


Self-fulfilling Prophecy

by SasuNarufan13



Series: Careful What You Say [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A couple of time skips, Albus' pov only, Angst, Doesn't follow epilogue completely, Drama, F/M, Implied past cheating, Lily Luna doesn't exist, M/M, Some bigotry, Some fighting, Starts as het but ends in slash, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-05-17 00:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5846635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's new Auror partner impacts his family's life more than expected. Sometimes mothers don't always know best and Albus can testify to that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How It All Starts

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: While I'm working on various other stories, here is something to pass the time with. I don't know yet how many chapters it will be, but it won't be too long with chapters varying between 3K and 4K. While it starts out as Harry/Ginny, it will eventually end up as Draco/Harry.
> 
> Warnings: Albus' pov (for the entire story); follows epilogue only partly; a bit of drama; Lily doesn't exist
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 1: How It All Starts_

The sound of the Floo letting out a particular chime – a sign that their father was home – made the ears of two boys, aged nine and seven, perk up. They shot up from their place on the floor where they had been playing with the Quidditch playset Uncle George had gifted them with two months ago.

They reached the landing of the first floor at top speed and wanted to rush down the staircase – not caring about the scolding they would certainly receive for doing that – when the voices of their parents made them halt abruptly at the top of the stairs.

In unison, they sunk down until they were crouching right behind the balustrade; hidden from view by the broad balusters, which had flowers carved into the wood.

"And you seriously accepted him as your partner?" their mum asked incredulously and her voice gained a higher pitch.

Both boys winced simultaneously; they had enough experience with that particular tone to know that dad was in trouble. Mum was very annoyed.

"Why not?" Dad sighed and footsteps sounded in the living room. "He needs a partner, Ginny, and no one else is willing to team up with him."

Mum laughed sharply. "And that is surprising why exactly? Harry, you _know_ what he has done!"

"Yes, and I also know it's been years since the war," Dad bit back. "He served his sentence and he has graduated from the Auror program with nearly perfect scores."

"Who says that he isn't still planning on …"

"For Merlin's sake, Ginny! Do you really think he would have been able to pass the psychological examination if he had plans to do something bad? You know how strict that examination is – Ron and I nearly got into trouble for some of the spells we used during the war. It wouldn't surprise me if the examiners were even harder on him, because of his past."

James and Albus regarded each other confused. Who were their parents talking about? Mum didn't sound particularly happy with whoever this person was.

"But why do _you_ need to team up with _him_?" Mum asked frustrated and her high heels tapped sharply on the wooden floor. "You and Ron are a perfect team! Kingsley said so!"

"Because nobody else is willing to be his partner!" Dad repeated louder. "He can't work as an Auror without a partner and Kingsley asked me whether I would be willing to do it. He hopes that if the other Aurors see that he won't attack me, then someone else will step up to team up with him. As long as that doesn't happen, I stay his partner. Ron is already assigned to Sebastian."

"I just don't understand," Mum said frustrated. "You and him never got along during school – you were enemies, for Merlin's sake! And now you're just accepting him as your partner? Harry, you need to count on him to have your back – are you sure he will do that? Slytherins never change."

Dad sighed and it was silent for a long moment.

"Look, Ginny, it is what it is. I'm his partner for however long it takes and that's that. There is nothing to be discussed about this. I may not trust him completely, but I do know he'll have my back if there is a need to – he's not going to compromise his own position by screwing me over," Dad replied and he sounded exhausted. "He knows that the higher ups are keeping an eye on him; he's got no reason to screw me over. Sure, he'll be difficult – no doubt about that. But he's not stupid."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Harry," Mum retorted darkly.

"Let's just stop talking about this, all right? I don't want to fight about this," Dad murmured and then the footsteps neared the doorway of the living room and the two boys hastily stood up, rushing back to James' room before their dad could catch them eavesdropping.

The door closed behind them with a soft 'click' and they let out a collective sigh.

Albus looked at his older brother with wide eyes. "Is dad's new partner that bad?" he whispered, mulling over the conversation they had just heard.

Dad usually worked with Uncle Ron, though there had been times when he had to work with someone else for a particular case. Mum had never made any fuss about those instances, though, so why was this time different? Because dad would be working for a long time with this mysterious person?

"I don't know, Albus," James muttered troubled and furrowed his eyebrows. "But mum really doesn't like his new partner."

"Does she know him?" Albus asked curiously. Both their parents seemed to know this mysterious man really well, but mum hadn't sounded very nice when talking about him.

The older boy rolled his shoulders and absentmindedly ran his hand over the plush, dark orange carpet. "Seems so," he murmured bemused.

They nearly jumped three feet in the air when the door opened, revealing their dad, who had changed from his red Auror robes into a white sweater and faded jeans.

A smile graced his lips and he crouched down, opening his arms. "Am I going to get a hug from you two?"

Bright grins coloured their faces and they shot up, eager to give their dad a hug. They both managed to get their small arms around dad's neck and they hugged him tightly; Albus' face got pressed against dad's strong shoulder and he tightened his hug.

"Missed you, dad," he muttered and felt his dad hug him back.

"I missed you guys too," Dad chuckled and pulled back a little. His emerald green eyes – ones that Albus had inherited – twinkled when he continued, "Mum asks whether chips and hamburgers are okay for dinner."

"YES!" James and Albus cried out at the same time and their grins widened.

They didn't have chips and hamburgers a lot, because mum thought it was too unhealthy, so they were very excited to have that as dinner tonight.

Dad chuckled amused and rose up, clapping his hands. "All right, go wash your hands. Mum and I will prepare dinner."

After another cheer, James and Albus rushed to the bathroom; for once eager to wash their hands.

Their confusion about dad's mysterious new partner was forgotten.

* * *

Two months later, Albus almost hopped down the staircase with a broken toy in his hands. It was a figure of the famous Quidditch player Victor Krum and during playing, another player had bumped against Krum's figure in flight and one arm was snapped off. It had happened before with another player – apparently the limbs were the weak point of this particular play set – but mum had fixed the previous one, so Albus hoped she would be able to fix Krum as well.

Locating mum's voice in the living room, he pattered over to that room, but halted abruptly in the doorway when he saw her kneeling in front of the fireplace; her layered, dark blue skirt flared open on the floor. Her long, ginger hair was pulled up in a messy bun. As it was November, the Quidditch season had ended and so she was staying at home until the season started again in February.

Dad's voice sounded a bit distorted and Albus knew at once that his parents were Floo calling. He bit his lip and his hand tightened around the figure in his hand; he hoped dad wasn't Floo calling, because he needed to leave for an assignment immediately. Albus absolutely despised those particular Floo calls, because more often than not those assignments ended up being very dangerous and led to them visiting dad in the hospital.

"Come on, Ginny. It's just dinner," Dad murmured and a hint of frustration shone through his voice.

"But why? He has his house elves to cook for him, right?" Mum snorted and she shook her head.

"That's not … It wouldn't be good for him to spend his evening alone today," Dad sighed and Albus could imagine how he would rake his hand through his hair.

Messy hair that Albus had inherited, while James' hair was more manageable.

"And why's that?" Mum asked coolly.

Albus knew he should go back upstairs, that eavesdropping was not allowed, but he couldn't convince his feet of turning around and walking back. Instead he stayed rooted to his spot as he listened to the conversation unfolding.

"His son is spending the weekend with his mother and today is the day his father died. He shouldn't be alone right now."

"He still has his mother, no? So he isn't alone," Mum retorted sharply.

"Mrs. Malfoy is living in Spain, Ginny, you know that. She can't enter the country for at least another three years and he isn't allowed to visit her until she returns," Dad replied irritated. "It's just dinner."

"Look, his father died four years ago," Mum answered rudely. "He's old enough to get through this evening on his own. If he didn't want to be alone on this day, he shouldn't have cheated on his wife!"

A silence so icy hung like a dark cloud in the room and Albus shivered, staring wide eyed at his mum. He had never heard her speaking so rudely before and it threw him off balance.

"Fine, he won't come to dinner then," Dad finally spoke and his tone of voice frankly scared Albus. Never before had dad sounded so angry when talking to mum. "Instead I'll have dinner at his place then. That way you won't have to worry about it. You don't need to wait up for me."

"Wait, Harry!" Mum protested, but the green flames of the Floo disappeared, leaving nothing but red and golden flames behind which merrily danced around each other.

"Damn it!" Mum cursed loudly and her hand slammed down against the floor.

Before mum could turn around and see him standing behind her, Albus scurried off, back to his room where he sunk against the closed door with his heart beating harshly against his chest. His ears rang and he swallowed, letting the broken figure slip out of his hand on the carpeted floor. Mum and dad having arguments wasn't that rare – Aunt Hermione had once said that they both had fiery tempers and that was why they argued a lot.

But until now they had never really become angry at each other. And that scared the seven year old.

Aside from the moments when he was on assignments, dad always returned home to eat dinner. Would dad really stay away today? He had never done that before.

And what was so bad about this man that mum didn't want to have him over for dinner? Mum had always been happy to cook for dad's partners. Even people she didn't know, she didn't mind cooking for when dad asked whether they could come over.

Albus really didn't like this odd feeling he got in his tummy.

* * *

That evening, he ate dinner alone with his brother and mum. Mum's lips were set in a tight line and her eyes were alight with anger as she practically slammed their plates in front of them.

Usually they played with the food they didn't want to eat, but for once neither boy dared to do that, for fear of making their mum even angrier.

They went to sleep without seeing their dad at all.

* * *

After two weeks of an icy atmosphere hanging in the house – making the boys happy for once that they could escape to their tutoring lessons – somehow the fight between their parents was either resolved or forgotten.

Albus didn't care how it happened; he was just glad to hear his parents laughing and talking again. He was tired of seeing mum glare at dad and dad returning home very late to avoid mum.

One day in December, however, destroyed the restored peace once again.

* * *

It was Friday and as their tutors had to attend a mandatory meeting, James and Albus both stayed home – not that they particularly minded that. Any day without boring Miss Vitch and her nasal voice was a good day in Albus' opinion.

They were playing hide and seek in the house with mum, when her coach called and asked her to meet her at her office. Because Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron were busy working and their grandparents were visiting their Uncle Charlie in Romania, mum called dad at his office and asked him to return home to watch them. Both James and Albus protested, saying they could stay home alone, but mum wasn't having any of it, stating that they were still too young to remain home alone.

So, right when mum had left the house to go to the Apparition point further down the street, the fire flared up green and spit out dad – closely followed by a strange, blond haired man.

James and Albus watched wide eyed how dad stumbled out of the fireplace and the blond haired man smirked as he calmly stepped out, brushing some soot particles off his red robes.

"Really, Harry," the man drawled; his grey eyes glinting in amusement. "One would think that after all these years, you'd learn to be a bit more graceful when exiting the Floo."

"Oh, shut up," Dad huffed and smacked his arm. He then turned around and smiled at his sons. "James, Albus, I want you two to meet my work partner, Draco Malfoy."

Mister Malfoy blinked when his gaze landed on Albus and the small boy squirmed, not used to the intense scrutiny the older man gave him. Sure, the public tended to stare at him whenever he was out with dad, but they never looked at him with such intensity.

"Well, seems like Albus got your looks," Mister Malfoy murmured and stepped forwards, holding his hand out. "A pleasure to meet you, Albus, James. Your father talks a lot about you two."

James quirked a grin and accepted Mister Malfoy's hand quickly, shaking it eagerly. "It's nice to meet you too, Mister Malfoy."

"Well, I'll be damned. Your son has manners," Mister Malfoy smirked, but he didn't seem to be rude on purpose.

Albus was shyer in his approach, but he too stepped forwards and shook the blond's hand; his fingers felt slightly rough against his own small ones. "Nice to meet you, Mister Malfoy," he murmured and hastily stepped behind dad's legs, clinging to his robes. He wasn't sure what to think of Mister Malfoy. Was he the man his parents had been fighting about so much?

Dad ruffled his hair quickly and smiled faintly at Mister Malfoy. "Sorry about that; Albus is rather shy around people he doesn't know."

Mister Malfoy waved his hand dismissively. "No need to apologise. Scorpius is the same way, so I understand."

 _Scorpius?_ What a peculiar name. Who was that?

"How come Mister Malfoy is here too, dad?" James asked curiously; eyeing the blond wizard carefully.

Dad smiled and beckoned them to follow him to the kitchen after removing his red Auror robes and hanging them over the couch. "We're in between cases right now and I figured it would be nice for you to meet him. After all I've been working with him for almost three months now."

Mister Malfoy hung his robes over the kitchen chair at the right end of the table. "I'm willing to bet that nobody ever thought we would last this long," he quipped and sat down, surveying the brightly coloured kitchen with curious eyes.

"Didn't you hear? They actually have betting pools on how long we'll last before hexing each other into oblivion," Dad smirked and gestured to James and Albus to sit at the table. "What do you boys think about some pancakes?"

"With chocolate sprinkles?" James chirped and his brown eyes – ones he had got from their mum – glittered.

"They wouldn't be pancakes without chocolate sprinkles," Dad answered gravely and the two boys giggled in agreement. "Draco, are pancakes all right for you too?"

"Am I likely to need an Anti-Nausea Draught?" Mister Malfoy inquired dryly and cocked his head to the right; some blond strands fell across his cheek.

Dad huffed. "I'll have you know that my pancakes are the best. Isn't that right, boys?"

"It's true." James nodded emphatically. "Not even grandma can make better pancakes."

"Well, if you're better than the Weasley matron, I suppose I can risk my health to try out your concoction," Mister Malfoy murmured; the corners of his lips curled up in a faint smile.

"I feel honoured," Dad retorted dryly and then tied an apron around himself, collecting all the ingredients he needed to make pancakes.

While dad was mixing the ingredients together in a big bowl, Mister Malfoy turned his attention to the two boys sitting across from him.

"How come you two are home, anyway?" He quirked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be having lessons with your tutors?"

"Our teachers have to go to a meeting," Albus replied softly, finally daring to look up from the table. "So we got to stay home."

"Lucky you," Mister Malfoy smirked. "I won't tell my son that, because he'll be jealous then."

"Is Scorpius your son?" James leant forwards; his face a picture of curiosity.

The blond man nodded. "Yes, he's seven years old now."

"That's as old as Albus," James exclaimed and then furrowed his eyebrows, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why is his name so weird?"

"James! That's not polite!" Dad scolded him, throwing him a warning look.

"It's okay, Harry," Mister Malfoy said calmly. "In my family it's tradition for the children to have Greek names and out of all the possible names, his mother and I liked 'Scorpius' the best, so we chose that name."

"We don't have a tradition like that, do we, dad?" James asked, turning his head to look at dad.

Dad shook his head and placed a piece of butter in the pan. The sound of the butter melting in the hot pan accompanied his answer. "No, we don't. Your mum and I decided to name you two after people we knew."

"I'm named after my dad's dad and my dad's godfather," James announced proudly and grinned.

"Is that so? And you, Albus?" Mister Malfoy inquired, leaning back into his chair.

"I'm named after the headmaster of Hogwarts and after someone dad says was very brave," Albus replied shyly.

"Oh, and who was this brave person?"

"Severus Snape," Dad murmured and flipped over the first pancake.

Mister Malfoy was silent and he looked quite perturbed, leaving James and Albus to look at each other questioningly. Dad was already flipping over the third pancake, when he finally spoke up again, "Never thought you would ever consider him brave, Potter."

Dad paused and then slid the finished pancake on the third plate, before he put chocolate sprinkles on top of the warm pancakes. "Yeah, well, it took me a while, but he got me to realise that not everything is as it seems," he muttered and directed the plates with his magic to the table. "I owe him a lot."

"Is that right?" Mister Malfoy muttered and there was a certain inflection in his voice that made Albus look up and stare at him. Then the older man shook his head and took a small bite of his pancake.

"And? Does it meet your approval?" Dad joked and sat down with his own plate.

"Taking into account your abysmal skills in Potions, I was expecting something horrific and an attack on my taste buds, but this is actually quite good," Mister Malfoy replied astonished. "How on earth did you manage to screw up brewing potions so much, while it's obvious that your skills are not entirely lacking?"

Dad snorted and shook his head. "Maybe because part of the reason why I wasn't good at Potions, was because a _certain someone_ constantly tried to mess with my brewing?" He raised an eyebrow.

Grey eyes glanced away, focusing on the plate in front of him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Mister Malfoy said airily.

"Sure, you don't. Shall I refresh your …"

"Harry?! What on earth is _he_ doing here?!"


	2. The First Stirrings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the attention this fic has gathered so far - I can only hope you will continue to like it! I'm also happy to see so many of reviewers of my previous stories returning for this one :)
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: some drama; small flashback
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 2: The First Stirrings_

Albus' fork clattered on his plate as he jumped up, startled at the sudden appearance of mum – who looked incredibly angry, causing both boys to cower in their seats and hold their breath.

Dad slowly lowered his own fork, narrowing his eyes slightly, while Mister Malfoy merely continued to eat, seemingly not bothered by the cold atmosphere that had suddenly fallen over the room.

Albus wished he could adopt the blond's calm attitude.

As it was, his heart was beating madly in his chest and his eyes went back and forth between his parents; apprehension building up inside of him.

"We currently don't have any case, so I brought Draco with me to introduce him to our sons," Dad answered slowly. "I figured it was about time they met him, considering we've been working together for almost three months."

"I see no need why _he_ has to meet our sons when your partnership is only temporary," Mum snipped and dropped her bag heavily on the floor. Several strands of her hair had escaped her messy bun and she impatiently pushed them back behind her ears, while her brown eyes – usually so warm – gazed coldly at Mister Malfoy.

"Come on, Ginny. Don't start this again," Dad sighed and gave her a warning look.

Mum seemed to grow bigger and her cheeks flushed with anger, causing Albus to wince. He really, really didn't want to remain here when another fight was about to break out between mum and dad. They had been doing so well these past few weeks – were they really about to start fighting again?

"Start this again?" Mum repeated and fire burned in her eyes.

"Your dad told me you have the Quidditch play set based on the Quidditch Cup of two years ago – can you show me that one?" Mister Malfoy suddenly murmured after placing his fork and knife on his empty plate.

James nodded with wide eyes and after casting a wary glance at mum, he slipped off the chair, tugging on Albus' sleeve to pull him with him.

On slightly shaking legs, Albus followed his brother out of the kitchen, though they were not on time to avoid hearing their mum shout, "And where the hell do you think you are going with them, Malfoy?!"

"Ginny, he's not going to kidnap them for Merlin's sake!" Dad raised his voice and the scraping of a kitchen chair being pushed back abruptly rang through the room.

Green eyes looked up wide eyed when a hand came down on his shoulder and he was gently steered towards the staircase.

"Come on, let's leave your parents alone for a while," Mister Malfoy murmured and next to him two plates with half eaten pancakes were floating in the air.

James muttered subdued, while he was climbing the stairs, "Mum doesn't allow us to eat in our rooms."

"Well, there is a first time for everything," Mister Malfoy retorted calmly. "It's not like you're going to spill your food. And if you do, I can clean it up with magic."

They gathered in James' room as that one was the closest while Albus retrieved the play set. To the boys' surprise, the blond man made no trouble about sitting on the floor next to them. For some reason Albus had assumed he would prefer to sit on a chair.

While James set about displaying every part of the set on the floor, Albus couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and he asked hesitatingly, "Why does mum not like you?"

Mister Malfoy stilled and gave him an odd look, as if he was contemplating something.

The young boy flushed in embarrassment and looked down at the floor; his fingers fiddling with his sweater. "I'm sorry, I know it's not …"

"The Weasley family and the Malfoy family have a centuries old feud," Mister Malfoy spoke slowly and he grimaced. "Your parents and I didn't get along during our school years, though the fights were more between your dad and me." He hesitated visibly before he continued, "I did some things during the war that I'm not proud of and your mum has never forgiven me or my family for being at the wrong side."

James looked up and narrowed his eyes. "But dad has forgiven you?" he prodded suspiciously.

A smirk appeared on the older man's face. "If he hadn't, do you really think he would have let you meet me?" he asked dryly.

"I guess not," James retorted and pursed his lips.

Albus remained quiet. Their parents barely spoke about the war. The seven year old only knew that dad had been an important person during the war and he was still regarded as a hero by the public. Whatever he had done during that time, it still made people come up to him and thank him profusely. Of course Albus knew that there was a bad side during the war as well – after all without a bad side, there would have been no fights – but he didn't know who had been on the wrong side.

But Mister Malfoy had been on the wrong side of the war? That was shocking to hear and it made him slightly uncomfortable, but at the same time he figured that even if the blond had been on the bad side, he couldn't have been that bad, considering dad worked with him without any problems. He trusted his dad and if dad didn't have any problems with Mister Malfoy being around them, he couldn't be a really bad person.

He nearly jumped up when the plate with his pancake was placed next to him.

"Eat up before it gets cold," Mister Malfoy told him and rolled his shoulders. "All right, that's a lot of stuff for just one play set."

James grinned excitedly. "Uncle George says it's the biggest set they have made so far!"

"YOU THINK I'M GOING TO LET SOME FILTHY DEATH …"

Suddenly mum's shouting was silenced and Albus turned around just in time to see Mister Malfoy lowering his wand with a stiff smile on his face.

"All right, how exactly do you play with this set?" he inquired calmly.

James was the first one to recover and he started to enthusiastically explain every part of the set and how it needed to be set up in order to play it. Albus joined him after a short while, still a bit shaken up from hearing mum raise her voice like that.

He could only hope that by the time they came downstairs again, mum and dad would have stopped fighting.

* * *

The remaining weeks until Christmas were filled with a strained atmosphere. Since that Friday, Albus hadn't seen Mister Malfoy again, but that didn't stop mum from muttering darkly about it throughout the following weeks. Their parents didn't outright fight like they had done that day, but it was clear that their fight wasn't solved yet.

James and Albus tended to stay in their rooms once their mum started ranting about Mister Malfoy again; they had no desire to be caught up in the argument between their parents.

Albus in particular didn't like the way their mum was talking about the blond man. Sure, he had only met the man once, but he seemed to be a good man. A bit stiff, yes, but apparently that was how the Malfoys were in general – at least if he had to believe his Aunt Hermione when he had asked her about Mister Malfoy.

" _Malfoy had a rather stern upbringing, Albus," Aunt Hermione murmured as she cut up an onion for the vegetable soup._

_The young boy stopped doodling on the paper and looked up. "But he doesn't seem mean," he said and bit his lip. "Mum says we can't see him anymore. Dad got really angry about that."_

_She sighed and placed the big knife on the cutting board before turning around to face him. "It's rather complicated, honey. Your parents and Malfoy have a rather nasty history. Your dad more than your mum, though," she added almost absentmindedly._

" _But does that mean Mister Malfoy is a bad man?"_

" _Bad …" She hesitated, but shook her head and smiled faintly. "No, he made some really bad decisions in the past, but I suppose he isn't really a bad man. He became an Auror and he wouldn't have succeeded in that if he was a bad guy. Plus your dad gets along with him now. Out of all of us, I think your dad had the most trouble with Malfoy."_

" _Mister Malfoy said that," he muttered and frowned._

_She ruffled his hair gently. "Give your mum some time; she'll come around."_

Albus hoped that Aunt Hermione was right, because he was becoming tired of constantly hearing his parents argue whenever dad returned from a case.

Was it selfish of him to wish that his mum would just accept Mister Malfoy as dad's work partner?

* * *

Christmas started out well; for the first time since meeting Mister Malfoy, mum and dad were laughing together again, teasing each other over breakfast, while they urged the boys to eat. It was decided that the whole family would gather at their grandparents' house to celebrate Christmas and open the presents.

Knowing that they were this close to finally finding out what their family had bought for them, James and Albus were quite impatient to leave and they practically squirmed on their seats, waiting for the moment when their dad announced that they would Floo to their grandparents.

"James, Albus! It's so good to see you again!" Grandmother smiled brightly as she gave them each a tight hug and a kiss on their cheek.

Even though they had only seen her a week ago, they hugged her back tightly, enjoying the way the smell of delicious baked goods lingered around the older woman.

"Is everyone here already?" Dad asked curiously after accepting grandmother's embrace.

She shook her head, clucking her tongue in exasperation. "No, Percy let us know he'll be a bit late, because he's caught up in some paperwork."

Dad snorted and mum chuckled. "Well, that's good old Percy, I suppose," Dad muttered amused and they all made their way to the living room where the rest of their family was gathered.

Rose – the daughter of Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron – looked up with a bright grin when she spotted her cousins entering the room. She practically flounced over to them, dressed in a green dress with a ruffled skirt and a white bow tied around her waist. A dark blue diadem decorated with a glittering flower held back her bushy hair.

She twirled around in front of them, proudly showing off her dress. "What do you think? Mum bought it for me yesterday," she smiled; her eyes glittering excitedly.

"You look pretty," Albus told her earnestly and his brother agreed, though his eyes were already wandering to Uncle George who was holding some new invention while he talked to Uncle Charlie.

"Thanks!" Rose's grin grew even larger and then her eyes started to positively sparkle when they caught sight of Albus' dad. "Uncle Harry! Look at my new dress!"

Dad turned around with a grin and bent down to accept her enthusiastic hug. "You look very beautiful, Rose," he said and brushed a kiss against her forehead.

It didn't take long before dad was accosted by Hugo, Rose's five year old brother; Louis, Uncle Bill's eight year old son and Roxanne, Uncle George's eight year old daughter. After they were done getting their hugs, Victoire and Dominique – Uncle Bill's daughters – came over to greet dad. Victoire was in her third year of Hogwarts now and Dominique had just started in her first year. Both were Ravenclaw and were on their Christmas break. Once they left to greet the others, dad's fifteen year old godson, Teddy came up to greet him with a grin.

Teddy, who sported wild, black hair and sapphire blue eyes, ruffled both James' and Albus' hair. "You two are getting big," he chuckled.

"Hey, Teddy, it's good to see you again," Dad smiled and embraced the lanky teenager. "How's school going?"

"Can't really complain."

As both launched into a conversation about Teddy's classes and his position as Chaser for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, mum led them to the couches where they encountered the rest of their cousins as Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey had just arrived.

* * *

Lunch was as always delicious thanks to grandmother's cooking and after they had stuffed their bellies full with the glorious chocolate fudge cake, they all went to sit down in the living room; conjuring up extra chairs and couches to accommodate everyone.

Grandmother and grandfather went around distributing the gifts to everyone – the children clearly had the biggest pile and they all had fun tearing into the paper and comparing their gifts with the ones of their cousins.

Once the children had their pile reduced to half its size, the adults started opening their own presents and for a while all that could be heard was the tearing and wrinkling of the paper and the bright laughter of both the adults and children filling the warm room. It didn't take long before the carpeted floor was littered with paper of various bright colours, nearly covering the red brown carpet from view.

Albus was distracted from browsing through his picture book about magical creatures by the soft 'thud' sound, caused by an eagle landing on the windowsill. It cocked its white head and stared inside with intimidating, golden eyes.

"What on earth is an eagle doing here?" Uncle Bill asked perplexed and everyone turned to look at the window; some mouths dropped open as the eagle knocked against the glass impatiently with its beak.

Dad was the one who stood up to open the window and the large bird hopped inside with a soft screech, landing on a small table next to the window. Around its paw three small packages were tied.

"Who would use an eagle to send presents?" Uncle Ron questioned bemused.

"Harry," Mum spoke warily, but dad just shrugged and relieved the eagle from its burden.

"James, Albus, you have another present," Dad announced as he enlarged the packages with a swift flick of his wand. The eagle ruffled his wings, hopped outside and took off; evidently having been told not to wait for a reply.

James and Albus looked at each other surprised, but stood up, holding open their arms to accept the present. It was wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper with the outline of gold roses pressed on it. A glittering, silver bow held it together.

Curiosity piqued, Albus carefully opened the present and his mouth dropped open when he removed the lid of the box. Inside the box, placed on a pillow of red velvet, was a stuffed toy of a dragon with an invitation clenched between its soft front paws. The invitation gave the owner of it access to the Dragon Sanctuary located in the Black Forest in Germany; this particular sanctuary had been built three years ago and unlike the other sanctuaries spread out over the world, visiting that place was not easy as it required a special invitation issued by the owner of it – making obtaining one particular pricy as well. Various nearly extinct dragons were being protected in that place and therefore the owner wanted to avoid having too many visitors as that would only cause stress to the dragons. So far only thirty people spread out over three years had been allowed to enter the sanctuary.

Albus' name was written on the front of it in a flourish handwriting and he carefully traced it, full of awe. He had been wanting to visit that sanctuary ever since Uncle Charlie had told him about it, but because it was so expensive and because both his parents worked a lot, he hadn't thought he would ever get the chance to actually visit it.

But now here he was: holding his very own invitation in his hands!

"Wow!" James exclaimed as he held up his own stuffed dragon; the card, decorated with a silver outlines of the dragons found in the sanctuary, glimmered in the candlelight.

"Harry, who bought those gifts for them?" Mum demanded to know as she walked over them, casting a suspicious glance at the items cradled in her sons' arms.

"Draco bought them," Dad murmured; his own eyes were cast downward, looking at whatever his package contained with a queer look.

James' and Albus' heads shot up in surprise and they stared at each other with open mouths. Mister Malfoy had bought these amazing presents for them? It must have been so difficult for him to score those invitations!

"He bought them?" Mum narrowed her eyes dangerously, putting her hands on her hips. "Why on earth did he buy them presents?"

"Because he wants to be nice?" Dad suggested calmly and shrugged. "I bought presents for him and his son as well, though I hadn't expected him to return the gesture."

"You bought those people presents with _our_ money?" Mum hissed outraged and her cheeks flushed with her building anger.

"Ginny, calm down, please," Grandfather spoke soothingly, but she seemingly didn't hear him.

"No, I bought presents for them with _my_ money," Dad answered sharply and gazed at her with slightly narrowed eyes. "You know, the money Sirius left me."

"Why would you buy presents for them?" Mum snapped angrily, as the flush on her face deepened. "It's Malfoy, for Merlin's sake!"

"I didn't hear you complaining when I bought presents for Michael's kid," Dad shot back and his arm tightened around the package.

"That's different!" Mum retorted with a huff.

"How is that any different?"

"Because he was not Malfoy!"

"Would you two please give it a rest?" Aunt Hermione snapped and scowled at them. "It's Christmas, for Merlin's sake!"

"I just don't understand why …" Mum broke off her own question when she finally took a closer look at the stuffed toys in their hands. Her brown eyes narrowed until they were nearly closed. "Those are not regular stuffed dragons. Why the f … Why did he buy them tickets to the Black Forest Sanctuary?!" Her inquiry ended in a loud yell and Albus winced, stumbling back until he bumped against the wall.

"He bought me a ticket as well. I assume he bought them, because I told him that James and Albus are fond of dragons," Dad replied and he was starting to sound incredibly annoyed.

"Albus, James, you're going to send those presents back to Malfoy!" Mum demanded and made an attempt to snatch the toys out of their arms.

James practically danced out of her reach and went to hide behind dad. "No, I like the present. I want to keep it," he said stubbornly and tightened his arms around the dragon, which let out a cloud of smoke.

"James Sirius Potter, you will …" Mum started to say, but she was interrupted by dad.

"Ginny, those are their presents and they are going to keep them," he said and the tone in his voice let everyone know he would tolerate no arguing. "We're not going to send them back. The only thing the boys will be sending Draco is a card to thank him for the gifts."

"Those _gifts_ are too expensive!" Mum spat and took a step forwards.

"ENOUGH!" Grandfather raised his voice suddenly and everyone else jumped, staring shocked at the old man. Nobody had ever expected him to be the one to scold them; scolding family members was usually grandmother's job. He scowled at both mum and dad. "This is not the time to argue! Ginny, let the boys keep their presents. If Malfoy wants to give them that, it's his right. Now we're going to sit down and enjoy the rest of the afternoon and I won't tolerate another argument. Do you understand?"

Mum nodded stiffly and marched back to the couch; her back ram rod straight. Albus winced at the sight, but couldn't help but tighten his grip on the toy. He didn't want to make his mum angry, but he didn't want to relinquish his gift either.

"Come on, James, Albus. Let's sit down again," Dad murmured and they nodded in silence, still shaken up from hearing mum raise her voice like that.

Clearly the argument about the gifts was not finished yet, judging by the icy silence hanging between their parents.

As Teddy drew him into a conversation about his special present, clearly in an attempt to distract him from the awkward atmosphere clinging to the room, Albus glanced at the package placed on dad's lap and wondered silently what else Mister Malfoy had bought for him that would bring such an odd look on his face.

A look that seemed to be a strange mixture of happiness and sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: A bit late in the year for a Christmas themed chapter, but well ...
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter; should you spot any mistakes left, please point them out to me.
> 
> I see you all back in the next chapter! Preview of the third chapter: Albus finds out what exactly his dad received as gift.
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	3. Tension Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And here I am with the third chapter. As promised, you'll find out what Draco got Harry as a Christmas present :) Also I'm very happy with the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter! Think we can beat that number again this time? *hopeful, pleading eyes*
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: dash of drama and cliffhanger
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 3: Tension Rising_

The argument during the Christmas party seemed to have been forgotten; neither one of their parents talked about it, though Albus caught his mum scowling at his stuffed dragon multiple times. He had placed the stuffed toy next to him on his pillow and the invitation was kept safely in his top drawer. Dad had promised to take them to the sanctuary soon and he could hardly wait for that to happen! Even though the gift had been the reason for yet another fight between dad and mum, Albus adored his dragon. Not only because it had carried the invitation to the sanctuary, but also because it was soft and beautifully made. Seeing it sitting on his pillow every day filled him with warmth and not even mum's disapproving looks stopped him from cuddling with it every night.

As the weeks passed and they entered a new year, the tension in the household lowered and ebbed away until it was as if the argument had never happened in the first place. Albus had discussed with James a couple of times why mum was so bothered by the fact that Mister Malfoy had sent them gifts, but neither one of them could figure out the exact reason and neither felt brave enough to ask mum about it. Essentially Mister Malfoy had become a taboo subject at home.

It became a forbidden subject after one particular Sunday afternoon at the end of January …

* * *

"Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, …"

As soon as James turned around, closed his eyes and started to count down from twenty to zero, Albus ran out of the living room and hastily looked around, trying to find a decent hiding spot. He and his older brother were playing hide and seek since they had finished their homework and the throwing of the Galleon had appointed James as the one who had to start searching first. It had become a competition of sorts between the two of them to find the best hiding place in the house. Last time James had won when he somehow had managed to fit himself into one of the lower cupboards in the kitchen; it had taken Albus almost an hour before he had finally found him and now he wanted to outdo his brother.

This time he would be the one leaving James to wonder where he was hidden!

But first, he actually had to find a good spot and he needed to find one quickly before James would start searching.

Hurrying past dad, who came down the staircase and gave him an amused look, Albus looked right and left and then ran to the left. A bright grin unfurled on his face; he had found the perfect hiding place.

He came to a momentary stop in front of his dad's office and hesitated, biting his lip. He actually wasn't allowed to be in here; dad worked on his cases in this room and he had forbidden both him and James from entering the room, because they could mess up the files. He didn't want to disobey his dad, but this had to be the best hiding place in the house! James would never even think of trying to search for him here. Besides, as long as he was careful and he didn't bump against anything, it should be fine, right? And if he stayed hidden for more than an hour, he had automatically won their game of hide and seek and he could sneak out once there was no risk of encountering someone near this room.

It was a fool proof idea.

"Zero! I will find you, wherever you are!" James sang from downstairs and that made Albus stop dawdling.

If he didn't hurry now, James would find him already. Opening the door slightly – it was much heavier than it looked like actually – he slipped inside the crack and closed it carefully, making certain that he didn't make a sound. The thick carpet covering the wooden floorboard muffled his footsteps and he looked around; curiosity growing. He had never been in this room before and he found himself wanting to wander around and take a look at the desk where several files were placed. Three boxes stacked upon each other stood next to the desk and a bookcase next to the large window contained several thick tomes, which looked somewhat forbidden. It made Albus shudder for some reason and his attention was drawn towards a closet on his right. It looked like the wardrobe that stood in his parents' room, but it couldn't be one, right? Why would dad keep clothes here?

Outside the room he heard the staircase creaking, signalling that James was coming up and heart slightly racing in anticipation, Albus hurried towards the closet, praying that he could hide in it. Luckily for him the first door he opened, showed just one package placed on the bottom of the closet with some cloaks draped over an iron bar – which hung a couple of inches above Albus' head – and he could easily fit inside. He stepped inside and managed to pull the closet door until there was less than an inch opening left. Shuffling around, he was relieved to discover that the closet had been equipped with a limited version of wizarding space and he could easily sit down, without his knees accidentally bumping against the door.

Giggling quietly, he heard his brother wander around in the hallway, opening doors before going to the opposite of the hallway.

Just like he thought: James didn't even think of checking inside this room.

Albus felt slightly guilty, because he was wilfully disobeying his dad, but he would be really careful. He couldn't do much harm, sitting here in this closet, right?

The guilt was shoved away by the growing amusement as he heard James walking around, opening doors and drawers louder as he grew frustrated with every minute that passed without him finding the younger boy. James had always had less patience than Albus; one of the reasons why their hide and seek games never lasted long.

After a while, his butt felt rather numb and he shifted around, trying to regain the feeling in his buttocks again; listening to James walking back and forth in front of the room. In doing so, his left knee bumped against the package and he froze as it bumped against the wall of the closet. Holding his breath, he only relaxed when he heard James walking away. Good, he hadn't heard the thumping noise then.

His gaze was drawn towards the box again. The little bit of daylight that managed to filter through the crack fell partly on the box and he gasped surprised when he recognized the package. A familiar dark blue wrapping paper with golden roses outlined shone weakly in the light; it was missing its silver bow, but Albus was certain that this was the present dad had received from Mister Malfoy. Why was it here? And why was it still in the box?

Eyebrows furrowing in contemplation, he cocked his head and leant forwards. Why would dad hide Mister Malfoy's present in this closet? And what else was in there besides the invitation to the dragon sanctuary? If it only contained a card, it wouldn't have made so much noise when he bumped against it.

His hand was already hovering above it before he realised it and he retracted it hastily, biting his lip in shame. It was one thing for him to sneak into his dad's office, but it was a whole other thing to peek into the present he had received. It wasn't polite, Albus knew that. He had already crossed a boundary by entering this room despite not being allowed to and it would be really bad if he also looked inside the box.

But he was just so curious …

A Christmas present couldn't be that weird or bad, right? True, it was odd that dad kept it inside this closet, but maybe he hadn't found an appropriate place for it yet? He should just leave it alone; it wasn't any of his business what Mister Malfoy had bought for dad.

And yet …

Fidgeting, his emerald green eyes were once again drawn towards the box. It wouldn't hurt to just sneak a peek, right? Dad would never have to know about it and it wasn't like he would take it out of the box, whatever it was. Just a quick peek and then he would ignore it.

Led by his burning curiosity, he sat up on his knees – wincing at the way the wood dug into his knees through his trousers – and pulled the box towards him. Carefully, tongue poking out from between his lips, he opened the lid with both hands and peeked inside. He blinked bemused at the content of the box.

The invitation card was the first thing he saw; dad's first and last name were written in the same flourish handwriting that had written Albus' name. The card wasn't attached to a stuffed dragon toy like it had been in the case of Albus and James, though. Instead, it was placed on top of several other objects. One of them was a small key, though it didn't look like any of the keys Albus had seen before. He doubted it was meant to open a door. Right underneath the odd key, a folded piece of heavy parchment was placed and he slowly extracted it from underneath the key. The parchment smelt ... old, as if it had been stuffed away for years before it was picked up again. Curiosity growing even more, Albus opened it and became confused at the content. He couldn't understand most words, though he picked out words like 'manor', 'Potter', 'belonging to the heir' and 'Charlus Potter'. Long paragraphs filled with difficult words filled the paper and then switched over to a long list, which enumerated things like 'two kitchens'; 'six bedrooms' and 'eight sets of silverware'. The list went on and on; talking about rooms and content of the rooms and it only served to confuse the boy even more.

Not able to make any sense out of it, he folded the parchment again and placed it next to him on the floor.

A necklace with a flower pendant and two rings, which vaguely resembled the rings his parents wore, followed the paper soon.

The last object covered the bottom of the box and it took him several tries before he managed to retrieve it from the package. He placed it on his lap and discovered it was a photo album. It had a dark red cover and in the middle of it, in gold letters 'The Marauders' had been printed.

The Marauders?

Frowning, he recalled Teddy mentioning that word years ago when he had been talking to dad about his own father. Albus couldn't remember what exactly the conversation had been about it, but he was certain that Teddy had mentioned that his own father had been a Marauder – whatever that meant.

Okay, now he was really curious.

Opening the photo album on the first page, he was surprised when he was greeted by a picture of three boys, dressed in Hogwarts robes, laughing as they chased after each other with snowballs ready to be thrown. His dad occasionally let him browse through the family album he had got from Hogwarts' groundkeeper Hagrid and thanks to that album, he could recognise his own dad's dad in the picture, chasing after a boy with half long, dark hair, who stuck his tongue out, while a brown haired boy shook his head at his friends' antics. The caption underneath the picture read, "James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. December 1974."

So the Marauders … were his dad's dad and his friends? What a peculiar name; he wondered how they had come up with that.

Curiosity now at its full peak, he browsed through the album; smiling at how the boys behaved in the pictures. There were some of his grandfather snoring with open mouth as he was draped over a red couch; some of Remus Lupin, Teddy's dad, as he studied with an intense look on his face. Yet another one showed Sirius Black – dad's godfather if Albus recalled correctly – sitting astride on a Muggle vehicle with a large, mischievous grin plastered on his handsome face. Another one had both James and Sirius covered in some pinkish goo as Remus was bent double, tears streaming over his face as he laughed at the dumbfounded faces of his friends.

On the very last page, all three men were facing the camera with excited grins on their faces – though Teddy's dad's smile was more tempered – as they waved their diplomas of Hogwarts high in the air.

Closing the album almost reverently, he stared down at the cover; absentmindedly stroking it. He wondered how Mister Malfoy had managed to gather this much stuff. Especially the pictures had probably been difficult to gather, because dad had once mentioned that Hagrid had to contact a lot of people to gather pictures for his photo album.

Albus assumed that the rest of the stuff was related to dad's family as well. That would certainly explain why his dad had looked so sad and yet happy at the same time. The young boy knew that his dad didn't have much left from his family after they had been killed by a very bad man and so, he must have been really happy to get these items as a gift.

Albus found himself liking Mister Malfoy even more, despite only having talked to him once. Someone who went through so much trouble and effort to make his dad happy couldn't be a bad guy at all.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the door to the office suddenly opened and he panicked, wondering whether James had managed to find him.

It was worse.

"Do you really have to leave tonight, Harry?" Mum asked worriedly as muffled footsteps walked through the room.

"I'm afraid so, Ginny," Dad sighed and a drawer was opened. "Kingsley said it was urgent and we need to leave around eight p.m."

"How long will the assignment last?" Mum inquired and she sounded unhappy.

Albus shared that particular sentiment; his heart was beating harshly inside of his chest and his arms clenched around the album. His dad had to leave for an urgent assignment tonight? That only meant one thing: it would be very dangerous. And chances were high that dad would get hurt.

He swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fear swirling around in his belly.

"Kingsley estimates that we should be able to get it done in less than a week, depending on how many times the suspects leave the house," Dad answered and the sound of a zipper being drawn back rang through the room.

"How many of you will be going?"

"Three. More than that and we would probably give our position away," Dad muttered distracted. "Our informant told us that they have special wards erected that would alert them once more than three people come near them."

"And will three be enough?" Mum's voice trembled.

"Ginny, it'll be all right, I promise," Dad spoke soothingly and the soft sound of a kiss reached Albus' ears, making him slightly flustered. "We know what their weaknesses are and we have studied the plan thoroughly. All that is left to do, is catch them and deliver them straight to Azkaban."

"You know you can't promise me it'll be all right, Harry," Mum retorted heatedly and she sounded as if she was stamping her foot down on the floor. "I don't want to keep visiting you in the hospital! What if something goes wrong?! What if you don't …" She stopped, audibly choked and smothered a sob.

"Hey, hey, I'll be okay," Dad insisted. "Do you really think you can get rid of me so easily?"

Mum let out a watery chuckle. "You better return in one piece. Or else I'll kick your arse."

"I know you will," Dad snickered.

Albus was too late to react. Before he knew it, the door of the closet swung open and he was staring right into his dad's astonished face.

"Albus? What on earth are you doing in here? I thought I told you, you weren't allowed to be in my office?" Dad scolded and then his eyes fell on the gifts spread out on Albus' lap and the bottom of the closet and he visibly paled.

"Albus? What are you …" Mum trailed off as her own eyes caught sight of the various objects. She then looked at the empty box, still covered in the blue wrapping paper, and her cheeks reddened. "Harry, what is the meaning of this?"

Albus trembled at the dangerous tone, even though it wasn't aimed at him, and shrank back against the wall; his arms still clutched around the album.

Dad bit his lip and shook his head. "Albus, please put everything back and come out of here," he told him calmly and the young boy nodded jerkily, feeling his ears and cheeks burn in shame.

"Harry, I asked you a question," Mum said through gritted teeth and her brown eyes narrowed.

Dad released a sigh of exhaustion and crossed his arms in front of his chest, wrinkling his blue shirt. "That's Draco's gift. He sent it to me during Christmas, remember?" he replied calmly, though his jaw was clenched.

Meanwhile Albus was placing everything back into the box with trembling hands, carrying the futile hope that he just hadn't caused another argument between his parents.

"You told me it was simply an invitation card with that stupid stuffed dragon," Mum hissed and her finger shot out accusingly at the key that Albus was putting back on top of the parchment. "That doesn't look like a stuffed toy to me! What did he really give you, Harry?"

"Just some stuff that belonged to my family," Dad muttered and looked away. "Nothing more."

"What. Did. He. Give. You." Mum's voice was icy now and she seemed on the verge of snapping as she ground out each word.

"Sirius' motorcycle; a photo album of the Marauders; my parents' wedding rings; a necklace of my mum and the papers to a manor that belonged to my grandfather," Dad rattled off impatiently. "There. That's what he gave me."

"Your godfather's motorcycle was destroyed, remember? When Hagrid took you away from the Dursleys?" Mum said sharply.

"Yes, but Draco managed to find a specialist who could reconstruct the motorcycle from its pieces."

It was silent for a few long seconds and Albus looked up with baited breath. Mum had a very peculiar look on her face.

"What?" Dad frowned, looking at her warily.

"Why on earth would Malfoy give you all that? Why would he go that far for you?" she whispered and her eyes were alight with an emotion Albus couldn't decipher.

"How should I know? He said he wanted to give me something that no one else had." Dad rolled his shoulders and glanced away, clearly uncomfortable. "I thought that the vaults and my father's Invisibility Cloak and the Marauders' Map were all I still had left from them, but he managed to give me some of my family back. I don't care how he did it, but I'm really happy with it." His eyes softened.

"You think it's normal that he goes that far for you?" Mum asked shrilly.

"Draco's become a good friend to me, Ginny," Dad snapped. "He hardly did something impossible."

Mum shook her head in disbelief and seemed to want to say something, before she changed her mind. "Is he coming with you on the assignment?" she questioned abruptly.

"Yes, he is. Why wouldn't he?"

She chuckled oddly. "Yes, why wouldn't he?" She whirled around and marched to the door. "Finish your packing, Harry. You don't want to keep him waiting!"

The door was slammed shut, causing several files to tumble down, off the desk onto the floor.

Dad sighed and raked a hand through his hair, clearly exhausted.

"I'm sorry, dad," Albus whispered and looked down, feeling hot tears gathering behind his burning eyes. "I didn't mean to come here and I didn't mean to open your gift! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I won't do it again!"

Dad lowered himself on his knees and closed his arms around the young boy, making the boy scramble out of the closet into his lap. "I'm not mad," he murmured tiredly. "I should have known you would be curious. It's not that big of a deal. Just promise me that you stay out of this room from now on, Albus. It wasn't nice of you to peek here."

"I know," Albus whimpered, tightly hugging his dad back. "I'm sorry!"

"There, there, it's okay," Dad hushed him and brushed a kiss on his forehead. "I need to finish packing now. Can you wait outside this room, please? I need to lock it up anyway."

Albus nodded and walked out of the room on trembling legs. James rounded the corner at the same time and clearly wanted to shout something at him, until he got a good look of his face.

"Albus? What happened?" James asked, furrowing his eyebrows, as he drew closer.

Albus shook his head; not in the mood to talk about the argument between their parents – an argument he had inadvertently caused by sneaking around.

"Dad's leaving on an assignment," he croaked out in the end.

James' face fell and it was with a heavy heart that both boys said goodbye to their dad half an hour later.

Never before had the house felt so cold. Albus couldn't help but fear that something bad would happen.

* * *

Six days later, they received an urgent message from Saint Mungos. Dad had returned from his assignment in a really bad state.

The coldness only grew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Only a small cliffhanger now, right, guys? :D But hey at least you know what Draco's present contained!
> 
> Next chapter will have Albus and James meeting Scorpius for the first time ^^
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	4. Accusations Galore Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: After the small cliffhanger, here's the next chapter. I really appreciate your comments, guys! I had quite a bad week, so your comments helped!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: slight drama; meeting Scorpius
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 4: Accusations Galore Part 1_

They barrelled out of the Floo, right into the entrance hall of Saint Mungos, before the message had even completely disappeared. As it was evening, both James and Albus were already dressed in their pyjamas and they had only taken the time to slip on some shoes before they followed mum into the Floo.

Heart nearly beating through his chest, ringing in his ears, Albus stumbled behind his mum to the desk, where the receptionist was busy writing something down.

"I'm here to see Harry Potter. In which room can we find him?" Mum asked loudly; her face drawn. The circles underneath her eyes had only grown throughout the week and her hair hung lifeless around her face.

"Mister Potter can't have too many visitors now," the receptionist answered without even looking up. "It would be better if you …"

"Listen here: I'm his god damn wife and you will tell me immediately in which room he is!" Mum snapped and slammed her fist down; her wand sparked in reaction to her anger.

The woman behind the desk looked up shocked. "My apologies, Mrs. Potter. Your husband has been put in room 603."

"Thank you," Mum replied stiffly and then marched to the elevator, while James and Albus hurried behind her.

While they waited in tense silence for the elevator to bring them to the right floor, Albus mused about the particular wording of the receptionist. ' _Not too many visitors now._ ' Was she implying that dad already had visitors in his room? If so, who? It couldn't be Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, because mum had only just sent a Patronus to them.

The elevator let out a sharp 'ding' sound to announce they had arrived on the sixth floor and they hurried past a couple of Mediwitches who were doing their rounds, quietly chattering to each other.

The door to room 603 stood ajar and without knocking, mum entered the room briskly while the two boys followed her silently.

As always dad had received a private room; not only because usually his injuries were bad enough to require a private room, but also to keep away curious bystanders and noisy reporters.

There were already two people in dad's room: dad's boss, Mister Shacklebolt and – to Albus' surprise – Mister Malfoy. Mister Malfoy had a bandage around his left hand and the centre of it had already darkened with blood. Another bandage was wrapped around his forehead and his right cheek was scraped; dried blood crusted around the cuts. Bags coloured the skin underneath his eyes and his blond hair was messed up. His red Auror robes were torn near his left hip. The blond wizard was seated on the plastic chair next to dad's bed.

"Ah, Mrs. Potter," Mister Shacklebolt inclined his head towards mum. His dark eyes glided over Albus and James. "Albus, James, good evening."

"Good evening, Mister Shacklebolt," James murmured and Albus nodded quietly, still a bit shy around the imposing man.

"What happened with Harry?" Mum asked in a trembling voice.

Albus' attention was drawn to the bed where his dad was resting and he swallowed harshly when he saw how dad looked like. He was incredibly pale and seemed to be shivering lightly, as if he was cold. Several thick bandages covered his arms and chest; the one near his left side seemed especially thick, as if it was holding something in place. The knuckles of his hands were bruised; the skin raw and red. His lower lip was cut and was clearly in the progress of being healed.

"Auror Potter was attacked by one of the suspects; he was hit by a couple of spells, resulting in lacerations across his chest. The Healers are confident he will be fine with some rest, though," Mister Shacklebolt reassured her and rubbed his hand over his forehead. He looked incredibly tired.

"What is he doing here?" Mum glared at Mister Malfoy, who hadn't even looked up once since they had entered the room.

"Auror Malfoy was the one who brought Auror Potter to the hospital," Mister Shacklebolt answered calmly.

"Let me guess: Harry got hurt because of _him_? He needed to be protected again, right?" Mum snorted harshly and shook her head. "Why do you think you have the right to …"

"Mrs. Potter, it's thanks to Auror Malfoy that your husband is still alive," Mister Shacklebolt said louder, interrupting her. "If it wasn't for him, there's a good chance your husband wouldn't have survived the mission."

"I'm willing to bet that he only saved him, because it was his fault Harry ended up so hurt," Mum said spitefully and took a step closer to Mister Malfoy.

This time Mister Malfoy did look up and he stared at mum coolly. There was a strange emotion swirling around in his cold grey eyes. "Not that it is any of your business, but it was actually because of Frank that Harry ended up being attacked. Frank lost sight of the last suspect and that man managed to take Harry by surprise before I managed to subdue him," he explained icily. "I used some basic Healing spells to keep him from bleeding out and Side-Apparated with him straight into the hospital."

"Well then, thank you for your help," Mum retorted icily. "You can go now. There's no need for you to remain here."

"Mrs. Potter, Auror Malfoy is Auror Potter's …" Mister Shacklebolt started to say, but was interrupted by Mister Malfoy.

"Don't bother. I'll need to go home anyway to freshen up," Mister Malfoy grunted and rose up from his chair. "I just wanted to make sure he was healing well."

"Well, now you've seen it," Mum said snippily and Albus saw James frowning when he looked at mum.

"Make sure to rest well, Malfoy," Mister Shacklebolt ordered and Mister Malfoy waved his hand lazily in response, walking past mum without deigning her worthy of even a glance.

While mum immediately bent over dad, firing off more questions at Mister Shacklebolt, who looked a bit perturbed; Albus quickly left the room, hoping to catch Mister Malfoy before he left.

"Mister Malfoy!" he called out and the older man stopped, turning around with a surprised look on his face.

"Yes, Albus?" he asked curiously. He seemed to be favouring his left leg slightly.

"I … Thank you for saving my dad," Albus blurted out and felt his cheeks flushing a bit in embarrassment. "I know that mum … She won't say it, but thank you."

Silver grey eyes softened and Mister Malfoy approached him. His hair was briefly ruffled. "No need to thank me," he murmured. "I wish I could have been quicker, but well …" He shook his head despondently. "Take good care of him, okay?" He turned around and started to limp away.

"You have pain – don't you need to stay here?" Albus asked, his eyes fixated at the way the red spot kept spreading out through the white cloth of the bandages.

"Well, you're definitely your father's son," Mister Malfoy smiled wryly and Albus looked at him confused. "I'll be fine; don't worry about it. Go back to your dad. I'm sure he wants to see you when he wakes up."

The shrill voice of his mum calling out, "Albus!" made him flinch and he nodded. "Bye, Mister Malfoy."

Mister Malfoy smiled faintly before he limped to the elevator.

"What were you doing?" Mum demanded to know when he slipped back inside the room.

James glanced at him through his eyelashes when he came to stand next to him, but didn't say anything.

"I said thank you to Mister Malfoy for saving dad," Albus muttered and clambered on the chair.

Mum took a deep breath and looked ready to scold him, but a groan coming from the bed had everyone swivelling their heads towards it.

"Dad?" James said hopefully.

Dad blinked, clearly still a bit dazed.

Mum bent over the bed. "Harry, dear, can you hear me?"

Dad turned his head towards her and squinted. While mum went to grab his glasses off the nightstand, dad asked dazed, "Where's Draco? Is he all right?"

James and Albus winced simultaneously as they saw mum stiffen in response.

Dad had just made a big mistake.

The only consolation, Albus figured wearily, was that mum wouldn't dare to start an argument with dad still hurt and Mister Shacklebolt near them.

But that she didn't appreciate dad being worried about Mister Malfoy was as clear as day.

* * *

Two weeks later, in the middle of February, mum started her vigorous training sessions with her Quidditch team once more. The Holy Head Harpies had had a winning streak going on last year and that was something the Captain wanted to recreate this season.

This meant of course that mum only arrived home late in the evening and left early in the morning. It had been like this ever since Albus could remember, so he wasn't too bothered by it. This just meant that dad would be home sooner – if he didn't have any missions that was – and he would be the one doing the cooking.

On a rainy Saturday Albus was woken up early by his dad when he opened the curtains with a cheery, "Good morning, Albus."

"Morning, dad," Albus muttered and yawned, sitting up right as he rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Mum left?"

"Yes, she just left, but she said she would try to be home a bit earlier today," Dad answered and then sat down on his bed.

Albus blinked sleepily and glanced at the clock standing on his nightstand. He couldn't hold back his frown when he noticed that it was barely seven thirty – much too early for a Saturday in his opinion.

"Dad?"

"Ah yes, there's a reason why I woke you up so early," Dad smiled apologetically, but a glimmer of excitement lit up his eyes. "You see, Draco asked whether we wanted to come over to his manor today for breakfast and to play a game of Quidditch."

"Quidditch?" Albus perked up. "We can fly on real brooms?" he asked hopefully. So far he and James had to use child's brooms. While those were fun, they couldn't fly high and not fast either, making both boys long for the day when they were allowed to fly on a regular broom.

Dad smiled secretively. "If you keep quiet about it to your mum, I think Draco won't mind you using his old Nimbus 2001." He winked. "Just be careful on it, promise?"

"I promise!" Albus nodded eagerly and excitement started to pool in his stomach. He would get to fly on a real broom today!

"All right, go freshen up, while I wake up your brother. Then we'll have breakfast at Malfoy Manor," Dad informed him and left the room.

Excitement thrumming in him, it didn't take long for the seven year old to freshen up and change his pyjamas for a blue sweater and dark trousers.

He could hardly wait to go to Malfoy Manor!

* * *

Mister Malfoy greeted them when they stepped out of the Floo half an hour later. James and Albus stepped hastily aside as their father stumbled out of the fireplace with a quiet swear.

Mister Malfoy raised an eyebrow and amusement lurked in his voice as he said, "I'm just going to pretend that your less than gracious entrance is due to the lingering ache of your wounds and not because you're just clumsy."

"Shut it, Draco," Dad retorted quickly, but he was smiling; showing that he wasn't too offended. "Is Scorpius here?"

"Yes, he's waiting at the breakfast table," Mister Malfoy replied and beckoned them to follow after three house elves had popped up to take their coats off their hands.

James and Albus looked at each other with raised eyebrows; they would finally get to meet Mister Malfoy's son today. What kind of child was he?

Their mouths dropped open slightly when they entered the room where they would have their breakfast. The table was made out of some dark wood and looked quite sturdy; filling up nearly the entire room. Three large, broad windows provided a grand view of the backyard; the Malfoy family seemed to be the owners of an entire forest as trees filled the landscape as far as Albus could see. Two large paintings containing some unicorns and their foals grazing serenely covered the walls on the right and the left. The floor itself seemed to be made out of some smooth stone.

What attracted the attention of both boys immediately, though, was the various dishes spread out over the table; some still steaming. Various cans containing either tea, coffee or orange juice were divided over the table as well.

"Scorpius, these are James and Albus – Harry's sons," Mister Malfoy introduced them to a small, light blond haired boy, who had been sitting quietly at the table.

Grey eyes – mirroring the ones of Mister Malfoy – studied them curiously and the boy inclined his head graciously. "Nice to meet you, James, Albus."

Albus nodded cautiously, not entirely certain what to think of the boy, and James smiled invitingly. "It's nice to meet you too, Scorpius," he chirped and looked up at Mister Malfoy. "Can we choose where we sit down?"

"Sure, there are plenty chairs to choose from," Mister Malfoy replied dryly and James plopped down on the first one he reached which was smack dab in the middle.

"Where do you want to sit, Albus?" Dad asked with a smile as Mister Malfoy walked to the head of the table.

"Next to James," Albus muttered, not really caring where he sat, as long as he could eat something.

So, Albus sat down next to James, while dad went around the table and took a seat next to Scorpius, whose face lightened up as soon as the older man sat down.

"I'm glad you're back, Harry," Scorpius smiled and his bright smile was such a contrast to the careful nod he had given to Albus and his brother that it made Albus blink bemused.

"You've been here before, dad?" James asked surprised, while he was buttering a piece of toast.

"Yes, several times," Dad replied distracted and smiled at the blond boy next to him. "How are your lessons going, Scorp?"

While Scorpius launched into a vivid description of his classes, James and Albus somehow got drawn into a conversation with Mister Malfoy about their classes and hobbies. Albus didn't mind talking with Mister Malfoy, but he was still wondering about the fact that his dad had been in this manor enough times for Scorpius to be so familiar with him.

Albus had a feeling their mum didn't know anything about this and made a silent promise to his dad to not inform her about it either. Merlin knew she was still tetchy about the fact that dad had worried about Mister Malfoy in the hospital.

* * *

As soon as they finished their breakfast, they went outside and grabbed a broom for each of them. Dad had brought his Firebolt with him, while Mister Malfoy retrieved a Nimbus 3000 from the shed. James, Albus and Scorpius were each handed a Nimbus 2001 and the brothers glanced at each other with excited grins.

Today they would finally fly on real brooms!

As they were not with enough people to have a real Quidditch match, it was decided that only the Quaffle and the Snitch would be let out. Dad and Mister Malfoy would act as Seekers – both had a nearly predatory grin on their faces as they looked at the Snitch fluttering in Scorpius' hand – while the three boys would be Chasers with Albus and James forming one team.

A house elf, dressed in a kitchen towel, gave the sign to start and it wasn't long before only laughter and the whizzing sound of the brooms cleaving through the air and the Quaffle being thrown from one hand to the other could be heard in the yard. Mister Malfoy had cast some sort of invisible net near the ground, so that if one of the boys managed to slip off their broom, they would have a safe landing.

The score between Albus and his brother and Scorpius was kept fairly even and eventually they were more distracted by watching their dads loop through the air, chasing after the Snitch, while each man tried to distract the other one. The Quaffle remained in James' hands and they craned their necks to follow Mister Malfoy as he suddenly shot from right above them to the other side of the field.

The Snitch was quicker, though, and they could hear Mister Malfoy curse as the golden ball brushed past his fingers.

"They're really good, aren't they?" Scorpius remarked with a grin. His cheeks were flushed and his blond hair was mussed and damp with the light rain that continued to fall down.

"Yeah, when we play Quidditch with our family, every team wants dad as their Seeker," James grinned and blew some strands of his hair out of his face. "Because whoever has him as Seeker usually wins."

"Father and Harry play a lot of Seeker games," Scorpius informed them and huffed in amusement. "They keep a score and the loser has to do something."

Albus cocked his head, intrigued by what he had heard just now. Dad often played Seeker games with Mister Malfoy? When did he do that? "What does the loser do?" he asked curiously.

The blond boy shrugged. "Don't know. They say I'm too young to hear it." He pouted.

"Does your mum play Quidditch with you?" James asked casually, rolling the Quaffle in his hands.

Scorpius visibly stiffened and worried his lower lip between his teeth. "Mother, she … She doesn't like flying," he answered softly. "So I don't fly when I live with her."

"Why is your mum not living here?" Albus couldn't help but ask. He hadn't heard before of parents who lived in separate houses. What a strange concept was that? Parents were meant to live with each other after all.

"Father and mother have a lot of fights," Scorpius replied and pursed his lips; his eyes narrowed slightly. "Father doesn't love her anymore and so they split. They got a divorce." He hesitated briefly and sighed. "Because father likes men more than mother."

James furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean: your dad likes men more?"

Before Scorpius could answer, however, a sudden victorious shout alerted them to the fact that the Snitch had been caught and they whipped their heads around.

Dad had his hand raised triumphantly in the air and the daylight was reflected weakly by the fluttering Snitch in his fist. "I won!"

Mister Malfoy groaned and shook his head, but even from that distance, Albus could spot a smile on his face.

"Looks like Harry won again," Scorpius smiled and then flew to the two men, who had started to argue about the particular twist dad had pulled to grab the Snitch.

James and Albus followed directly behind, though Albus' thoughts were stuck on what exactly Scorpius had meant with his remark that Mister Malfoy liked men more.

Why would him liking men make him live apart from his wife?

* * *

"Dad, can I ask something?" Albus asked, later that evening. They had returned from Malfoy Manor around three in the afternoon after having enjoyed a delicious lunch and now dad was preparing dinner as mum would be home soon.

"Hm? Yes, what?" Dad replied distracted as he flicked his wand sharply over the pan where a slab of pork was simmering loudly.

Rocking back and forth, with his hands clasped behind his back, Albus questioned, "What does Scorpius mean that Mister Malfoy likes men more?"

At the same moment dad whipped his head around to stare at him with mouth wide open, the shrill voice of mum asked from the doorway, "Yes, Harry, what does that boy mean with that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: It was at this moment that Albus regretted opening his mouth .-.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought about this chapter: should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next chapter: after a delay in the form of a fight, Albus gets his answer regarding Draco liking men. Also in the next chapter: can a Malfoy compliment a Weasley?
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	5. Accusations Galore Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Sorry for the small cliffhanger last time, guys - though I can't promise I won't use them anymore LOL I'm really, really delighted with the amount of reviews I got, though! More than the previous chapter got, so I'm beyond extactic with that!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: drama; hints of homophobia; verbal fight
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!

_Chapter 5: Accusations Galore Part 2_

Albus nearly jumped three feet in the air and turned around with wide eyes. He hadn't expected his mum to be home so soon; otherwise he would have waited with asking this particular question. He winced and shuffled with his feet. He really, really hoped he hadn't just started yet another argument between his parents.

"Ginny, you're home early," Dad murmured and lowered the fire underneath the pan and the cooking pot before turning around to face her.

"How does Albus know that boy?" Mum pursed her lips together and let her bag drop heavily on the floor. She was still dressed in her Quidditch outfit and her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail.

Dad let out a soft sigh. "I took him and James to Draco's manor today. I figured it would be nice for the boys to meet each other." He shrugged. "Scorpius doesn't really have good friends, so I thought that James and Albus could play with him occasionally."

"Why should our sons have to spend their time with that boy?" Mum asked coldly and she looked up at dad. "It's not our problem that he doesn't know how to make friends," she sneered.

"Don't be like that, Ginny," Dad sighed and turned his attention back to the cooking pot, though his jaw seemed clenched. "Scorpius is a good kid. He's just a bit shy, so I figured that maybe he would open up to Albus and James. It looked like they got along fairly well."

Albus nodded silently in agreement. Even though Scorpius had greeted them rather coolly, the longer they had stayed there, the more the blond boy had opened up to them. It had actually been with some regret that Albus had said goodbye to him.

"And you didn't think to ask what I thought of letting them meet that boy?" Mum asked coldly and crossed her arms.

"That boy has a name," Dad retorted sharply. "He's not some criminal, so there's no harm in letting them meet each other."

"You don't know what Malfoy has been teaching his son!" Mom hissed vehemently. Roughly she pushed back some strands of her hair that had escaped her ponytail.

Dad's face tightened almost imperceptibly and he turned the fire underneath the pans lower. "Albus, you still have to put your books away. Why don't you do that before we eat?"

It wasn't a question; Albus might be only seven years old, but he wasn't stupid. He also knew better than to refuse and he practically scuttled out of the kitchen, feeling bad for causing yet another argument between his parents.

He really hadn't meant to do that! He should have been more careful, he scolded himself as he hurried up the staircase. But he hadn't expected his mum to be home so soon.

James' head popped out of his room the moment Albus reached the landing. "Mum home?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah," Albus replied subdued.

Brown eyes studied him intently. "What happened?"

"Mum got mad again," the younger boy replied and his lower lip trembled faintly; his hands harshly twisted his sleeves around his wrists. "I asked dad what Scorpius meant when he said that Mister Malfoy likes men more and mum heard me. She's mad now."

James sighed and opened his door when the voices of their parents grew louder. "Come, I'm getting rid of some books; do you think you want some of them?"

It was a weak attempt to distract Albus from the fight brewing downstairs, but he stepped into James' room gratefully. Inside the books had been sorted into three rather unstable piles next to the bed.

"Which ones do you want?" James asked casually, but his hand shook a bit when he closed the door behind them.

While both boys settled themselves in front of the books, they did their best to ignore the shouting that was going on downstairs, but it was difficult and their voices trembled as they spoke with each other.

"I will not let our sons be influenced by that man!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Draco's not doing anything wrong!"

"He's not normal, Harry! Our sons will not turn out to be like him! I won't allow it!"

"There is nothing wrong with being gay, Ginny!"

"It's not fucking normal!"

Albus nearly jumped three feet in the air when the small radio in the corner of the room blared to life, drowning out their parents' voices; it had been gifted to James by Uncle Bill when the latter had gone through his old stuff a couple of years ago.

James studiously ignored him as he sat down again. "I like this song," he said nonchalantly.

Which was a blatant lie, because James hated that singer with a fiery passion, but Albus didn't remark on it, knowing that his older brother had turned on the radio so that they wouldn't have to hear their parents fighting. He really appreciated that gesture.

* * *

The two boys sorted through the three piles until Albus had a pile of his own placed next to him, containing ten books that he had been wanting to read for a while now, but hadn't been able to because his brother had refused to let him borrow them.

They had been so involved in their task of putting the rest of the books in a cardboard box that they jumped and screamed in fright when the door suddenly opened, revealing their dad, who raised an eyebrow. James immediately turned off the radio and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, dad, we didn't hear you," he muttered and plopped down on his bed.

"Apparently," Dad said dryly and shook his head. "Dinner's ready, boys."

James and Albus shared a look, both apprehensive to find out how their parents would act during dinner.

When they entered the kitchen, however, they didn't spot their mother at all. A quick glance in the living room showed that she wasn't there either.

Now more on their guard than before, James and Albus sat down on their chairs while their dad filled their plates. Albus noticed that the table was set for only three people now and swallowed, plucking at a string of his sleeve while his stomach churned uncomfortably. Where had mum gone? Up until now their parents had never left the house, even after a heavy argument. Guilt simmered as he recalled that his question had been the cause of his parents' fight this time; he should have kept his mouth shut. He had just honestly thought his mum wouldn't be home yet.

As soon as dad sat down and gestured for them to start eating, James blurted out, "Where's mum, dad?"

Albus' nails burrowed into his trousers, sharp, stinging pain blooming up underneath his fingers, when dad answered neutrally, "She got a Floo call from one of her friends, so she went to visit her. She'll be back in a few hours, don't worry."

Worry was exactly what Albus was doing now. "Is mum still mad?" he asked in a small voice and forced himself to relax his hands. His heart felt stuck in his throat and the threatening sting of tears behind his eyes made him blink harshly.

"She isn't mad at you, Albus, don't worry," Dad soothed and tousled his hair quickly with a faint smile. "Let's eat, before it gets cold, okay?"

The young boy nodded, but couldn't help but notice that his dad hadn't denied that mum was mad in general – just not mad _at him_.

The heavy, downtrodden atmosphere was slowly replaced with a lighter one as James took it upon his shoulders to start chattering about the kind of toys Scorpius had let them play with after the Quidditch match was over and Albus gradually relaxed; the lump in his throat diminishing, making it easier for him to swallow his dinner.

"Scorpius said that he stays with his mum two weeks every month," James remarked and pursed his lips; his fork hovering above a piece of pork. "Why is that?"

Albus looked up from his own plate; curiosity once more brewing in him. "He says his mum left, because Mister Malfoy likes men more. Why is that bad, dad?" And why would it make his own mum so angry? Dad liked Uncle Ron and Uncle George and they were men, but mum didn't get mad about that. So what was the difference? Why did liking men make Mister Malfoy a bad man, but not his dad?

Dad sighed and leant back in his chair, roughly raking a hand through his hair. "It's …" He looked away for a moment, before he nodded grimly and continued, "See, Scorpius' parents got a divorce a few years ago, which means that they aren't together anymore."

"They don't love each other anymore?" James asked confused.

"No, they fell out of love. It's something that happens sometimes. Sometimes people discover after a while that they don't like each other that much anymore and they decide to break up then," Dad explained and appeared slightly uncomfortable. "That's what happened to Draco and his wife."

"Is it bad?" Albus inquired and furrowed his eyebrows. He had a hard time imagining a married couple suddenly not loving each other anymore. You married someone because you loved them, right? You even promised to stay with each other for the rest of your lives. So why would you suddenly not love that person anymore? The young boy couldn't imagine his grandparents separating, or Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, or even his own parents. Sure, his parents could argue a lot, but they still loved each other. What had happened to Scorpius' parents to not make them love each other anymore?

Was it something that could happen to his mum and dad as well? Fear constricted its ugly arms around him and he clenched his hand around his fork.

Dad was silent for a while, contemplating his answer before he replied slowly, "Not really bad, no. Sometimes it's better if people separate; otherwise they would just be sad all the time."

"But Scorpius said that they're not together anymore, because Mister Malfoy likes men more," Albus retorted bemused. "Why is that bad? You like Uncle Ron and Uncle George, right, dad?"

Dad let out a strange huff, as if he was vaguely amused. "I do like Uncle Ron and Uncle George, yes," he replied calmly and sipped from his apple juice. "But that is a different kind of like. Draco is … gay. That means that he likes men in the romantic sense. He prefers having a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend."

Men could like each other like that? Albus blinked, startled by the news and stared wide eyed at his dad. He wasn't sure how to feel about that fact. Wasn't it weird for two men to like each other? Then again dad seemed fairly relaxed with it, so it couldn't be that weird, right? And Scorpius hadn't seemed particularly bothered by it either; he had been more annoyed with the fact that he couldn't fly when he was visiting his mother.

"Is that … Why would mum be mad about that?" James questioned and scratched his head. "Is it that abnormal?"

"It isn't abnormal," Dad was quick to state and shook his head. "Draco isn't any different from us. He just likes men more than women, that's all. Unfortunately some people do think it's weird, because they are used to seeing a man and a woman together. Your mum …" He hesitated visibly before he plunged on, "Your mum doesn't know any gay couples, so she isn't used to it. It doesn't matter, though. Who Draco likes, is his own business."

"But it's not abnormal," James repeated, looking for confirmation.

"No, it's not abnormal."

A pensive silence fell in the kitchen until Albus broke it when he suddenly thought of something. "Does that mean that two girls can like each other like that?" he gasped surprised.

"Yes, two girls can like each other like that as well," Dad chuckled and then looked at them sternly. "I don't want you to pester Draco with questions about it, though. He doesn't like people knowing about it, so can I trust you not to bother him about it?"

Albus immediately nodded, already feeling horrified at the thought of pestering Mister Malfoy. He would never do that! He knew how annoying it could be when people just kept asking questions and he resolved to never do that to Mister Malfoy – or anyone else for that matter.

James wasn't so quick to agree, though. "But what if I have questions about it?" He cocked his head; his voice laced with innocent curiosity.

Dad sighed and waved his hand. "I don't think Draco would mind if you asked some questions, as long as you stay polite," he said firmly. "Remember, you don't like it either when people keep bothering you."

"I wouldn't bother him!" James protested and pouted, crossing his arms.

Dad laughed and stood up, leaning over the table to ruffle through his reddish brown hair. "Fine. Come on now, help me clean up a bit. We'll play a game afterwards," he promised before either of the boys could start sulking.

Helping with the dishes wasn't exactly Albus' favourite activity, but the promise of a game made him acquiesce quickly and he jumped off his chair to put away the bottle of apple juice.

* * *

By the time Albus was finally tucked into bed, he was far too exhausted after having played tag throughout the entire house with his brother and his dad to wonder why his mum hadn't come home yet.

* * *

The atmosphere in the house remained strained and Albus had taken to be very careful about what he said to his dad when his mum was around. He didn't like that he had to censor himself, but he would do anything to prevent his parents from fighting again, so he made certain not to mention either Mister Malfoy or Scorpius whenever mum was near them.

Dad didn't seem to have the same reservations Albus had; while he didn't go out of his way to antagonise mum on purpose, he made no secret of the fact that he took Albus and James to Mister Malfoy's manor during the weekends, so they could play with Scorpius.

After one more fight about their visits, mum appeared to have resigned herself to the fact that Scorpius was slowly becoming a friend to her two sons. That or she was studiously ignoring their visits to Malfoy Manor, which was also a possibility. Scorpius never came to visit them at their place, however, and Albus wondered whether that was just coincidence or whether that was dad's way of keeping the arguments to a minimum.

Eventually, just like all the previous times, the atmosphere in their home lightened up again, ruffled feathers were smoothed over and both their parents relaxed, going back to teasing each other and sharing sweet kisses. In return, both the boys relaxed as well, though they kept their mouths shut about Mister Malfoy and Scorpius; there was no need to stir up trouble when everything had finally become normal again.

* * *

On Friday evening, the fourteenth of March, Albus leant back in his chair and furrowed his eyebrows, fiddling with the feathers of his quill contemplatively. He was trying to figure out the best way to end his letter to Scorpius. After their second visit to the manor, the blond boy had shyly asked him whether he would mind exchanging letters every week, saying he liked talking to Albus. The dark haired boy had instantly agreed; he had never had someone to exchange letters with before. All his friends lived near him, so if he wanted to, he could just visit them or at the very least Floo call them; Floo calling Scorpius was out of the question as mum had refused to create a connection between their home and Malfoy Manor. Dad didn't mind lending out his owl to Albus and now every week without fail the seven year old would receive a letter from his new friend and he would pen one back immediately.

This time Scorpius had mentioned that he was upset he couldn't follow the Quidditch match on the radio; his mother absolutely despised everything related to Quidditch and Albus was trying to figure out how to comfort his friend without the benefit of seeing him face to face.

The door behind him opened and he swivelled his head around; his quill dropping down on his desk.

"Albus? We need to leave now; mum won't like it if we're late," Dad smiled and beckoned him; his red Auror robes swishing around his legs when he stepped inside.

Mum's Quidditch team the Holyhead Harpies were playing against the Montrose Magpies; it was the first Quidditch match of the season and it promised to be an interesting one as both teams were quite strong. Albus and James attended every match of their mum and their dad joined them as often as he could. This evening, however, dad would attend the match as Auror; someone had threatened to harm a player of the Montrose Magpies and a team of four Aurors had been selected to keep an eye out for the suspect.

Albus had pouted a bit when he had heard that his dad had to work during the game instead of watching it together with him and his brother; dad's commentary was the best part of the game.

Dad's eyes lightened up when they caught sight of the unfinished letter in front of the young boy. "You're writing a letter to Scorpius?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how to finish it," Albus pouted and his frown deepened.

A hand quickly brushed through his hair, ruffling it slightly. "Well, maybe watching the game will give you some ideas," Dad suggested and squeezed his shoulder. "For now I'm afraid your letter will have to wait. You know how nervous your mum gets when we're not there on time."

Albus grinned and nodded; he didn't understand why his mum was still nervous before every match – she always did great, so there was no need for her to be nervous.

"I'm ready, dad!" James burst into the room excitedly. He was wearing his Holyhead Harpies' sweater: a dark green one with a gold talon emblazoned right in the middle of it.

Putting the cork back into his inkwell, Albus shoved his chair backwards and nodded. "I'm ready too." The letter would have to wait until after he came back from the game.

At James' insistence, dad painted gold and dark green stripes on their cheeks before he urged them to go outside, so he could side-Apparate them to the stadium.

Mister Malfoy greeted them when they entered the hallway that would lead them to the seats; he was also dressed in his Auror robes and looked quite annoyed.

"Let's get this over with," he murmured and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Sure, just give me a minute to find …"

"Harry!" Uncle Ron came running to them with a bright grin adorning his face. Unlike dad and Mister Malfoy, however, he was dressed in his regular robes. "Ginny was already starting to worry that you would be late."

Albus couldn't hear what Mister Malfoy muttered, but it did make dad elbow him in his side, which earned the man a heavy glower in response.

"As if we would ever be late to her games," Dad chuckled and nodded to Uncle Ron. "James, Albus, Uncle Ron will watch the game with you, all right?"

"Come on, let's get you guys some candy before the match starts," Uncle Ron grinned widely and slung his arms around them, tugging them along.

Albus chanced one more glance behind him to wave at his dad. Dad waved back, but he seemed to be caught in a heated argument with Mister Malfoy, who scowled and shook his head before storming away.

Albus blinked bemused, wondering why Mister Malfoy had seemed so annoyed. All thoughts about Mister Malfoy's odd behaviour left his mind completely when they entered the stadium and were greeted by the loud cheering of the fans who had already found their seats.

Fifteen minutes later, James and Albus were stuffing themselves full with Cauldron Cakes and Licorice Snaps; their eyes glued on the Quidditch players zooming back and forth across the field, dark green clashing with the black and white robes of the Montrose Magpies.

The match lasted for nearly three hours with both teams evenly matched; the score kept even, making it clear that the Snitch would really make the difference now. In the end, though, the Holyhead Harpies managed to win, though they had to replace three of their players – thankfully not their mum – and had a heated argument with the referee after a particular nasty move of one of the Montrose Magpies' Beaters.

The players' feet had barely touched the ground before James and Albus burst onto the field, rushing straight to their mum, ignoring the shouted warning of Uncle Ron to be careful.

"You won, mum!" Albus cried out excitedly and flew around her waist, not even bothered by the scent of leather and sweat that clung to her.

Mum laughed happily and hugged them both back, pressing kisses on their heads. "Yes, and I'm really glad with that!"

"We knew you would win," James grinned and pulled back; his eyes glittering brightly.

"Of course you knew," Mum chuckled and shook her head. When she looked up, her face contorted into a strange mixture of irritation and fondness.

"Congratulations, honey," Dad smiled and placed a hand on her neck, drawing her in for a kiss. "You did an amazing job."

"I thought you were working?" Mum raised an eyebrow; the corners of her mouth twitching.

"We apprehended the suspect twenty minutes into the game," Mister Malfoy spoke blandly. He was standing a couple of feet away from them; arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. "I think Harry was planning on using a Tracking charm if it had taken us longer than that to find the guy." He inclined his head and a peculiar glint appeared in his stone grey eyes. "The papers didn't exaggerate your talent as a Chaser, Weasley, though Falmouth Falcons are by far the superior team. See you next Monday, Harry." He nodded towards James and Albus in greeting, before he abruptly turned around and strode off the field; his back stiff.

"A compliment wrapped in an insult; what a surprise," Mum snorted and narrowed her eyes.

"Hm, that's Draco," Dad replied vaguely and shrugged. "He won't change in that regard. Now I think it's time we go out to celebrate, no?"

His question was met with enthusiastic agreement and they left the field before any of the reporters could descend on them and fire off questions.

Albus had already forgotten the strange look in Mister Malfoy's eyes by the time they had reached their favourite restaurant, where the rest of their family was already waiting for them to celebrate the Holyhead Harpies' victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Look, no cliffhanger :D Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next chapter: a bonding moment between Draco and Albus has a rather nasty result.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	6. It Continues with a Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: ANNOUNCEMENT: For the epilogue of this story - which will be posted separately for reasons that will be explained later - you readers can choose whose pov you'll want to read :) You can choose between:  
> Albus Severus  
> James Sirius  
> Scorpius Hyperion
> 
> Please let me know your choice!
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: drama, angst, minor bonding moment between Draco and Albus
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> REMARK: I know that Charlie is the Dragon keeper and Bill worked in Gringotts, but once it became clear that people were starting to become bothered by the scars on his face, Bill decided to join his brother in Romania. The reason why this is not mentioned in the story is because Albus has only ever known Bill to be a Dragon keeper and as this story is exclusively in his pov, I couldn't fit the new information anywhere.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 6: It Continues with a Dragon_

One week after the Quidditch match, on Saturday afternoon, Albus visited Malfoy Manor again with James. Mum had left on a four day trip to Ireland for training and would be back Tuesday evening. When Albus had mentioned in his letter to Scorpius that his mum would be gone for four days and his dad had an assignment that would last for the better part of Saturday, his friend had suggested that he and his brother came over to play at the manor, assuring him that his father wouldn't mind it at all.

When Albus had gone to ask his dad whether he could go play with Scorpius, he had been smart enough to only ask the question when he was sure his mum wasn't around. She might not have reacted too badly to Mister Malfoy's presence after the game, but he didn't want to push his luck too much. Dad had instantly agreed, saying he would drop off him and James at one o'clock.

The door to the bathroom fell soundlessly shut behind him and Albus glanced around, fiddling with the button of his shirt when he realised that he couldn't remember which way he had come from after leaving Scorpius' play room. During his previous visits he had only been in the dining room, the Quidditch pitch and Scorpius' play room that had been right next to the dining room. This time, however, they were playing in what Scorpius called his Master Play Room and even though the blond had given him a good explanation on how to go from that room to the bathroom – good enough for Albus to reach the bathroom without any trouble – he couldn't recall anymore which way he had come from and he huffed in annoyance. The big manor might be fun to use as a place for Hide and Seek, but it was a terrible place if you didn't know your way around.

Albus was quite dismayed to find himself actually _lost_ in the manor. He thought of calling a house elf to direct him back to the play room, but he didn't know any of their names and as such didn't have a way to summon one of them.

"Maybe it was that way," he muttered and hesitatingly walked forwards, choosing the left side. His footsteps were muffled on the dark blue carpet and his eyes flitted around, taking in the various vases – some filled with flowers, others empty – on small, round tables; big, white statues of magical beings like a unicorn and a Manticore – Albus shivered when he saw it and hurried past it, not wanting to linger around it even if it was just a statue and not the real being – and portraits of Malfoy family members, who were either sleeping or too engaged in their conversations with others to take notice of the young boy walking through the hallways.

After taking two right turns and one left, Albus came to the conclusion that choosing the first left turn had not been the right way and he sighed, looking around helplessly. How on earth was he supposed to go back to Scorpius and James now? He didn't even know in which part of the manor he was! Dad really wouldn't be happy about this.

Shuffling past a door that stood ajar, his attention was caught by a flash of dark green and he stopped, cocking his head to the right as he lingered in front of the room. From his position in the hallway he could see a large armchair with its back to him and part of a heavy desk. Somewhere behind the door had to be a fireplace as the boy could hear the gentle crackling of a fire. What had caught his attention was something that was placed on a shelf behind the desk and he took a step forwards before he realised what he was doing.

His cheeks flushed and heated up; he couldn't enter this room without permission! That would be extremely rude! The décor was a very obvious clue that the room belonged to Mister Malfoy and was used by him; it wasn't one of the many rooms in the manor that merely served as a room to entertain guests or store furniture in.

Shaking his head, he turned around again, planning on retracing his steps as well as he could so that he could find Scorpius' room again, when the green flash attracted his attention once more.

He really, really shouldn't enter this room without permission, but he still lingered in the doorway, curiosity blooming up in him like a flower reaching out to the sun. He wanted to know what was the cause of the green sparkle, but dad had more than once instilled the importance of asking permission first in him. He might have disobeyed his dad a few times at home, but at least there he had an idea of what the room contained and while dad scolded him, he was never really mad at him. Albus had no idea how Mister Malfoy would react if he found him in a room without permission and he really didn't want to anger the older wizard. He hadn't talked that much with Mister Malfoy so far, but the man had always been friendly and he never talked down to him, unlike some of the other adults Albus knew.

So he really shouldn't enter this room; it would be beyond rude.

And yet … Biting his lower lip, green eyes glanced around uneasily as the boy shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Nobody was in the hallway and silence reigned; even the few portraits near the room were currently empty, devoid of their occupants. Nobody would know if he quickly slipped inside the room, checked out the source of the green sparkle and left again. He would only be inside for a few minutes at most. Plenty of time to quickly sate his curiosity.

Feeling quite jittery, Albus slipped into the room, barely opening the door further and hurried to the shelf; his attention fixed on whatever was glittering. He stopped right in front of the shelf and had to crane his neck a bit to properly look at the object standing proudly on the shelf; his breath escaped him in a surprised gasp when he saw it.

It was a five inch high statue of a dragon, but it wasn't one Albus immediately recognised. Its scales were a dark green and they caught the light of the fire, causing the material out of which the statue was made to sparkle. It had two sharp, long, glittering golden horns and they resembled the horns of a bull with the way they were placed on the dragon's head. Its frame was quite bulky due to its heavy muscles. It was standing proudly on a piece of dark grey, jagged rocks, crushing something that resembled a brown coloured wolf underneath its sharp claws. Its piercing, dark golden eyes appeared to smoulder in the firelight. It might just be a statue, but it was realistic enough to have everyone who gazed upon it cowering underneath its stern glower.

Awed, Albus slowly and carefully traced over the scales, shivering lightly when the cold, smooth stone brushed against his warm skin. He was utterly captivated by the dragon, wondering where Mister Malfoy had managed to find it and what kind of dragon it was. It certainly wasn't one that could be found in the United Kingdom.

"I see that the Romanian Longhorn managed to charm you," spoke a smooth, calm voice behind him.

Albus shrieked in surprise and whirled around, barely managing to retract his hand on time. Fortunately he managed to avoid smashing the statue off of the shelf, though it didn't make his heartbeat any less louder in his ears.

His cheeks reddened fiercely and he felt his entire face heat up in embarrassment and shame when he saw Mister Malfoy standing in the doorway, looking at him with one quirked eyebrow. Guilt instantly rose up, leaving an ugly taste behind in his mouth.

"I'm so-sorry, Mister Malfoy; I didn't … I know I'm not al-allowed, but …" Albus stammered and waved his arms helplessly, not knowing how to explain his presence in a room he hadn't been invited into. This was bad; really, really bad. He knew he shouldn't have entered the room, but he had been stupid enough to do so and now Mister Malfoy would be so _mad_ at him! A whimper of fear unwillingly slipped out of his throat and he looked down, shuffling his feet nervously as he wrung his hands together. Mister Malfoy would tell his dad about this and then dad would be so angry at him and he probably wouldn't take Albus with him to Malfoy Manor ever again.

Stupid, he had been so stupid!

The sigh of exasperation cutting through the air made Albus flinch and he bit hard on his lip; tears burning behind his eyes, threatening to spill over any moment now.

"The statue seems to have an irresistible charm particularly aimed at children," Mister Malfoy remarked blankly and stepped further into the room; his shoes clicked softly against the wooden floor.

"I di-didn't mean to," Albus stuttered, but he still didn't know how to apologise properly. There was no way to explain his presence in this room. "I had to go to the bathroom and I, I …"

"Got lost?" Mister Malfoy supplied benignly and his grey eyes glittered oddly. He shook his head and sighed softly. "I told Scorpius that he either had to go with you or send a house elf to accompany you as I know that these hallways can be very confusing if you're not used to them. Guess he forgot about it in his excitement to have you two come over to play."

"I'm really, really sorry, Mister Malfoy," Albus said in a small voice and his lower lip wobbled as he tried to hold back his tears. "I – I tried to get back and then, then I saw some-something green and I – I wanted to look."

The older blond rolled his shoulders and clucked his tongue. "Don't worry about it; I'm not mad," he replied to the young boy's utter shock. "There's nothing of importance in this room anyway." He nodded to the dragon statue. "What do you think of it?"

Albus didn't understand why Mister Malfoy wasn't angry at him for entering the room without permission, but he wasn't about to complain about that! Relief filled him, as sweet as the chocolate cake his dad made sometimes, and his eyes glued themselves onto the statue. "It's very pretty," he answered truthfully and his fingers twitched with his desire to touch the statue again, to feel the smooth scales underneath his fingertips. "I really like his green scales. Where does he live?"

"This particular dragon species has its territory in Romania," Mister Malfoy explained and came closer until he was standing next to the boy; his eyes contemplating the statue critically. "They nearly died out many years ago so Dragon Keepers have raised wards around their territory to prevent other wizards from harming them."

"Why would wizards hurt such a pretty dragon?" Albus questioned confused and stared at the older man uncertainly. How could anyone even think of hurting a majestic creature like the dragon? Didn't they realise how amazing those magical beings were? How could they do such an awful thing?

Mister Malfoy shrugged and pursed his lips, tapping one finger against the shelf. "Mostly because some parts of dragons can be used in potions and these wizards can get very rich by stealing those parts. That's why Dragon Keepers generally don't like visitors near the dragon sanctuary."

Realisation dawned upon Albus and he gasped softly. "Does Uncle Bill protect dragons too then?" he demanded, clasping his hands together. Uncle Bill was a Dragon Keeper, but he only talked about training with the dragons and telling stories about how many dragon babies had hatched and what they did after hatching. He had never mentioned having to defend dragons against mean wizards.

"If he's a Dragon Keeper, then yes, he protects dragons as well," Mister Malfoy murmured and something crossed his face quickly before his features smoothed over again. "Would you like to hold the statue so that you can take a closer look?"

Albus gaped at him with wide eyes. "Can I?" he inquired excitedly and practically vibrated on the spot. This conversation was not going like he had expected at all, but he wasn't about to complain about it!

"Here you go. Careful with it; it's heavier than it looks," Mister Malfoy warned and cautiously placed the statue in Albus' hands.

Albus was quite surprised by the weight, but he managed to not drop the dragon; instead he slowly turned it around in his hands, studying it from all angles. It was even more beautiful up close and his mouth dropped open when he caught the sharp glitter of the dragon's eyes as the fire behind him brought out the golden glow in them. His index finger brushed over ridges on the bottom of the statue and he furrowed his eyebrows as he slowly traced the ridges and grooves he felt. What was on the bottom?

Balancing the heavy weight in both his hands he turned it around and was taken aback when words greeted him.

' _Be as strong as a dragon, my dear Draconis.'_

Mouthing the word ' _Draconis_ ' he stared bemused at the inscription. Who was Draconis? What kind of name was that?

"My mother gave me that dragon as a present years ago," Mister Malfoy interrupted his musing and gestured to the inscription. "Draconis is a nickname she likes to use at times."

"Is your mum still in another country?" Albus blurted out as the memory of his dad saying that Mrs. Malfoy was in Spain months ago shot through his mind. He immediately flinched when he realised what he had just said. "I'm sorry! I didn't …"

Mister Malfoy chuckled; mirth dancing in his eyes. "Like father like son, huh?" he murmured and shook his head. "Yes, she's still in Spain. I'll probably see her again in a few years."

"Do you miss her?" the young boy asked softly, turning the dragon upright again. He couldn't imagine not seeing or talking to his mum for such a long time. She might get angry at times, but at the end of the day he knew she loved him and James very much.

The older wizard slowly breathed out and smiled whimsically. "Yes, I miss her. But I know I'll see her again soon."

Albus nodded subdued and cautiously poked the sharp ends of the Romanian Longhorn's horns; they felt very sharp and he hastily retracted his fingers, not fancying hurting himself.

"It's a very beautiful dragon. Your mum gives nice presents," he informed the blond sincerely and gnawed at his lip as he held out the statue towards the older man. A part of him didn't want to hand over the dragon again; it was so pretty that he really wanted to keep it, but it was not his, it was Mister Malfoy's. Even more, his mother had given it to him, so the dark haired boy knew it was very important to Mister Malfoy. He felt honoured that he had been allowed to hold the statue given the statue's history, so he shouldn't be greedy now.

Mister Malfoy cocked his head and regarded him with a weird look on his face as if he was trying to figure something out.

Albus faltered and lowered his hands slightly, the weight of the statue dragging them down. "What?" he asked confused, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"You can keep it," Mister Malfoy said calmly and nodded to the dragon.

"What? No, it's yours!" Albus protested and once more held out the statue, ignoring the burning sensation in his arms as the dragon started to feel heavy. "I can't keep it! Your mum gave it to you!"

"Harry told me how much you love dragons; it'll find a better home with you than it does here. Here it just collects dust until the house elves clean it. Besides, I'm more fond of snakes and jaguars," Mister Malfoy smirked and his eyes shone peculiarly as if he was remembering something funny.

Albus didn't quite understand what was so funny about liking both snakes and jaguars – and he secretly thought that it was an odd combination of animals, but who was he to judge when he liked both dragons and kittens? - , but he was far too happy with being able to keep the dragon. He could hardly believe he was allowed to keep this pretty dragon! Sure, Mister Malfoy had given him a Christmas present, but that was _different_. Now he gave something that his own mother had given to him; he said that Albus would give it a better home. The young boy preened at the amount of trust this showed.

"Thank you, Mister Malfoy!" Albus chirped excitedly and brought the statue as close to his chest as he dared to without damaging it. He practically vibrated with elation, already thinking of where he would put the beautiful dragon in his room. It would have to be somewhere safe so that it wouldn't accidentally fall onto the floor.

"Call me Draco," the blond smiled and green eyes widened at the change the smile caused in the blond's face. "Mister makes me sound so old."

"But that's not polite!" Albus protested. "You're an adult; I can't call you by your first name!"

Grey eyes blinked befuddled at that particular leap of logic, but he chuckled and nodded. "All right, what about Uncle Draco then? Would you mind calling me that?"

Well, he did call dad's friend Neville also uncle even though the man wasn't related to them, so the dark haired boy figured there was no harm in calling Mister Malfoy 'Uncle Draco' from now on.

"No, I don't mind," Albus smiled widely.

"Okay, do you promise to take care of the dragon, Albus?" Mister – no, _Uncle Draco_ asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I promise!" Albus nodded fervently; his big eyes gazing earnestly up at his uncle. He would be very careful with it; there was no way he would damage this beautiful dragon.

"Let's get you back to Scorpius' room; I'm sure he's wondering where you are now," Uncle Draco muttered and placed a hand on Albus' shoulder, gently guiding him out of the room.

All the way back to Scorpius' room, warmth settled inside Albus' chest and he couldn't keep the large grin off his face as he reverently held the Romanian Longhorn in his hands. He was going to take really good care of the statue. Uncle Draco trusted him to take good care of it and he wouldn't disappoint the man.

* * *

Dad raised an eyebrow when Albus proudly showed off the dragon statue.

"Uncle Draco gave it to me!" he announced, still brimming with excitement. "He says he likes jaguars and snakes better, so the pretty dragon would have a good home with me! Isn't he pretty, dad?"

Dad let out a startled laugh, glancing quickly at Uncle Draco, and nodded, ruffling Albus' hair. "It's a very pretty dragon, Albus," he stated and threw an odd look at the older blond. "You sure you don't mind giving it to Albus? It must have quite some value."

Uncle Draco shrugged and took a sip from his tea. He was still seated on the large armchair in the living room, where they had been waiting for dad to pick them up. "I don't doubt that Albus will appreciate it more than I do," he replied idly.

"Well, okay then. Thanks," dad smiled and bent down to hug Scorpius when the small blond rushed over to him. He looked over blond hair to Albus and James. "Mum is coming home sooner, so we'll have to leave now. Say goodbye to Draco and Scorpius, guys."

"You're still teaching me chess, right?" James demanded to know, pulling slightly on Uncle Draco's sleeve with an imploring look on his face. Even though he was interested in dragons as well, he hadn't put up any fuss when Albus had declared that the statue was his. His brother seemed more intent on being taught chess from Uncle Draco, claiming he wanted to defeat Uncle Ron.

"Yes, I promise. Next time we'll continue," Uncle Draco promised and placed his cup on the small plate.

"Ron is not going to like that," Dad remarked amused and snorted.

"And since when do I care about what Weasley likes?" Uncle Draco smiled sharply and rose up.

Dad rolled his eyes, but stood up, releasing his hold on Scorpius. "My mistake," he murmured and sighed. "Come on, guys. We need to leave now."

"Bye, Uncle Draco! Bye, Scorpius!" James and Albus exclaimed in chorus and waved enthusiastically at the two blonds before following their dad back to the foyer.

Uncle Draco inclined his head while Scorpius waved back with equal enthusiasm; grey eyes shining brightly like stars.

Albus couldn't wait to visit Malfoy Manor again; playing with Uncle Draco and Scorpius was much more fun than he had expected it to be.

* * *

Aware of the fragility of the statue, Albus had given it a place on the second shelf in his wardrobe, slightly hidden behind a pile of sweaters. That way there was no way he could accidentally knock it down and it kept most of the dust away. Whenever he wanted to look at the statue, he just had to remove his sweaters a bit and then he could gaze at the beautiful dragon as much as he wanted.

Having remembered his mum's reaction to Uncle Draco's Christmas present, the young boy had wisely kept his mouth shut about the new addition in his room. He desperately wanted to show it off to mum, but he also didn't want to make her angry, so in the end he kept quiet about it.

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, Albus was diligently finishing up his homework for that day before he started writing a reply to Scorpius' letter with much more enthusiasm than he had displayed for his essay. Scorpius was with his mother until next Monday and he had described a new game he had come up with, asking for Albus' input about it.

Right when Albus was summing up the best locations to play the game, the door to his room opened and mum entered, carrying the basket with the clean laundry.

"Your dad Floo called; he's finishing up some paperwork and then he'll come home," Mum informed him with a smile and placed the basket on his unmade bed.

Albus lifted his head and grinned; maybe he and James could convince dad to fly with them in the garden now that he was earlier done with his work.

"Who are you writing to, sweetheart?" Mum asked absentmindedly as she selected Albus' clean clothes.

Tightening his grip around his quill, he replied slowly, "I'm writing to Scorpius, mum. He's talking about a new game he came up with."

Mum's lips tightened at the mention of his friend, but she didn't remark on it and he breathed out relieved. Maybe she was finally getting used to him being friends with the blond boy.

The letter called his attention back and he turned around again, trying to come up with one last possible location for the game as mum started to fill his drawers with clean clothes.

He started to write down ' _Attic_ ' when mum suddenly asked, "Where did you get this, Albus?"

He swivelled his head around and his breath caught in his chest when he saw his mum holding the Romanian Longhorn in her hands. Her long, ginger hair brushed across the head and she frowned, turning it sideways.

"Did Uncle Bill give you this?" she asked surprised.

"N-no," he admitted hesitatingly. He didn't want to lie, but he also didn't want to risk angering her if he told her it was a gift from Uncle Draco. What should he do?

"Did dad buy it for you?"

He silently shook his head and his quill fell on top of his letter; his heart started to beat really quickly in his chest and he swallowed.

"Then who …" Mum inhaled sharply when she turned the statue upside down and her eyes caught the inscription etched into the bottom. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously and she pinned him with a heavy look. "Albus, who gave this to you?" she asked and narrowed her eyes.

"It – it's – Un-Uncle Draco gave it to me," he answered in a small voice.

Her cheeks gained an ugly flush. "And why did Malfoy give this to you?" she asked coldly and her hands tightened around the dragon.

"He – he said that I can give it a better home," he replied and winced when he caught sight of her grip on the statue. Worry started to grow; if mum wasn't careful, she would break it.

"I don't want you to accept any of Malfoy's gifts, Albus!" she snapped and glared down at the dragon. "Who knows what kind of spell he put on this! I want you to …"

"He didn't put a spell on it!" Albus protested and shot up, off his chair. "He gave it to me and I promised to take care of it!"

She shook her head. "No, I'm going to send this back," she said determined and turned around, crossing the room back to the door.

Albus ran to her before she could reach the door and pulled on her sleeve. "No, mum! Uncle Draco gave it to me! It's my dragon! Give it back!" he exclaimed desperately.

"He's not your uncle!" she snapped and pulled her arm away. "I don't want to hear you calling him that ever again and I don't want you to accept anything of him, do you understand me?"

"Mum, it's mine! You can't send it back!" Albus yelled and jumped up in an attempt to snatch the statue out of his mum's hands. Why was she so mad? What was wrong with accepting a gift from the blond wizard and why was it so wrong to call him uncle? Why was she being so mean right now?

"That's enough, Albus!" Mum raised her voice and then without any warning her hands released their hold and the statue dropped.

The sound of the dragon smashing against the floor, exploding into hundreds of pieces, was deafening.

Something in Albus cracked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Ah, angst ~ Does this count as a cliffhanger? 
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> Next chapter: Reparo might not be able to fix this mess.
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	7. Scratches and Bumps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Well, the previous chapter obviously brought forth some strong reactions LOL Remember to tell me your vote if you haven't yet!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: some angst; small argument
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!

_Chapter 7: Scratches and Bumps_

The young boy had a difficult time trying to reconcile the image of the strong, powerful Romanian Longhorn with the shattered pieces spread out over the floor. Dazed, he sank down on his knees and his fingers closed around the small, golden gemstone that had been used for the dragon's eye; he didn't feel the sharp ridges of the broken pieces cutting into his vulnerable skin, blood welling up out of the thin, small cuts, when he retracted his hand to cradle the stone against his chest – the only piece that had been left unscathed by the fall.

His lungs constricted as if something was squeezing them together and he found it hard to breathe; his breathing leaving him in sharp, abrupt exhales as a tremble went through his entire body, running through his muscles. Something burned behind his eyes and he gasped, the sound coming out as a high pitched whine, when hot tears spilled over his cheeks, leaving behind two thin, hot trails.

The gemstone quickly warmed in his hand and he squeezed it tightly; his ears ringing loudly as he stared blankly at the broken pieces that had been the magnificent dragon.

Uncle Draco had entrusted him with the dragon, despite it being a precious gift from his mum, had trusted Albus to take care of it. Now it was broken in hundreds of pieces, not even resembling the dragon in the slightest anymore.

Even more than feeling sad by the loss of the magnificent statue, he was scared of what Uncle Draco would think of him now. He hadn't even had the dragon in his possession for a week and it was already broken; Uncle Draco wouldn't trust him with anything anymore, would probably cease to be nice to him and that thought _hurt_. He hadn't even realised how much he had started to like the blond wizard until his heart hurt with the thought that the older man would dismiss him now that he couldn't even keep the pretty dragon safe.

Tears steadily dripped down, splashing on his trousers, and his shoulders shook; his chest hurting with the force he was exerting to keep his sobbing to a minimum. He shouldn't cry; he wasn't a baby anymore, but it really hurt to see his dragon laying in pieces in front of him.

A warm, familiar hand settled down on his shoulder, but he roughly shook his mum's hand off and shuffled closer to the jagged pieces; his hands trembled as he tried to put the Romanian Longhorn together again. He managed to stick two parts together, ignoring how his mother fussed at him, before they fell apart too and he slumped forwards, his vision blurry with the tears that just kept pouring out.

"Ginny, I was thinking we could – what on earth happened here?"

Albus' head shot up when his ears caught his dad's voice and he swallowed, another fresh bout of tears squeezing out, as he locked gazes with wide, astonished, green eyes.

"I-it b-broke, daddy," Albus cried; his face uncomfortably heated as his hands covered the two tiny gemstones. "T-the dr-dragon Un-un-uncle D-D-Draco gave m-me bro-broke."

Dad furrowed his eyebrows and sank down on the floor next to him, looking at the pieces perplexed. "I thought you had put the statue in your closet?" He shook his head and slipped his wand out of his pocket. "Doesn't matter; let's see if I can repair it, okay?"

"You knew he had that thing in his closet, Harry?" Mum asked shrilly; her own cheeks cherry red. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"What does it matter, Ginny?" Dad asked irritated as he gathered all the parts together, gently coaxing Albus to give up the two gemstones. The boy did so very reluctantly. "Draco gave it to him as a gift; no harm done."

"No harm done?" Mum repeated, spluttering in outrage. "Who knows what kind of spell he put on that statue?! He could have seriously hurt our - "

Dad whipped his head around and fixed her with a glare, snapping, "Will you please stop that? For Merlin's sake, Ginny, it's just a statue! A freaking statue his mother gave to him when he was a child! Why would he put a curse on that? What could he possibly win by cursing Albus?" Not awaiting mum's reply, he turned back to the collection of jagged stone and muttered, "Reparo!"

"Why are you asking me that? He's a damn Slytherin – they can never be trusted!" Mum ranted and took a step forwards. "And why are you trying to repair that? Just throw it in the bin! Albus, come here so that I can heal those cuts on your hands; you should know better than to pick up sharp things!"

Dad uttered a loud noise of frustration when another two consecutive 'Reparo' spells did absolutely nothing. "I don't seem able to repair it, but let's go to Draco. Chances are he'll know a way to fix your dragon," he reassured his son and gathered all the pieces in a small, red bag. After tucking that bag away in his pocket, he clucked his tongue and tapped his wand on Albus' hands, healing the small, stinging cuts. He nodded satisfied when the angry red lines disappeared, smooth skin left in its wake. "There, that's better. Come on now, Draco should be home by now." He rose up and Albus followed on trembling legs; a tiny sliver of hope worming its way in his chest.

Maybe Uncle Draco would be able to fix the dragon and wouldn't be too mad at him for not taking care of it enough to prevent it from breaking.

"Where are you going?" Mum questioned, ire clearly audible in her voice as she followed them downstairs.

"To Draco so that he can fix Albus' dragon," Dad answered curtly and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder.

"Our house isn't connected to his manor," Mum snipped and crossed her arms; her brown eyes alight with anger.

"That's why Albus and I are going through my office," Dad retorted and pulled Albus into the fireplace. "You know which way we're going, right?"

Albus nodded silently; his body still wracked with tremors as he tried to calm himself down. His dragon would be fixed; Uncle Draco would be able to fix it and he would apologise to the man for letting it break.

"What do you mean, Albus knows which way you're going?" Mum asked shrilly and hastily crossed the room. "Harry, answer m-"

"Red Claw's office!" Dad called out and instantly Albus' vision was filled with nothing but green light as he clung to his dad's trousers.

The narrow fireplace in dad's office had barely spat them out before dad turned around and threw a new pinch of Floo powder in the fire, pulling Albus back into the fire, stating, "Malfoy Manor!"

Uncle Draco appeared in the doorway of the foyer when the marble fireplace spat them out. He was still wearing a crisp, white shirt and black trousers, but his robes were absent – unlike dad, who was still wearing them.

"What happened?" Uncle Draco asked, sounding alarmed and strode inside. Grey eyes slid from his Auror partner to Albus, who didn't dare meet his gaze and instead stared shamefully down at the floor. The tiles were so clean the boy swore he could see his own reflection in them.

"The dragon statue broke, but I can't repair it," Dad explained and retrieved the bag, holding it up in front of him. "I assume that there's a specific spell needed that only a Malfoy would know?" He raised an eyebrow. "Can you fix it?"

Uncle Draco visibly relaxed and then groaned, rubbing his cheek briefly. "Merlin, I thought that with the way you entered, something had happened," he scolded and took the bag. He opened it and peered inside, nodding. "Yes, don't worry. I can fix it; mother tended to put protection charms on objects she thought were valuable or interesting for enemies. If the enemies broke such an object, they couldn't repair it in order to use it again." He paused and added dryly, "I also think she used this as a way to make certain I wouldn't be able to secretly repair something I had broken on accident."

"Did you often accidentally break something then?" Dad asked and cocked his head; a faint trace of amusement laced through his voice.

The blond man sniffed and turned around. "I'll call a house elf to get you two some tea while I repair the statue. Follow me."

"That's his way of admitting that he did break things," Dad whispered conspiringly in Albus' ear and winked. "He likes to keep up the illusion of being the perfect person, but sometimes he slips up."

The young boy smiled weakly, but couldn't muster up any real amusement as worry still coursed through his body. Pretty soon Uncle Draco would want to know how he had managed to get the dragon in that state even though it hadn't been a week yet and Albus was afraid to answer him. He didn't want to see Uncle Draco angry or even worse, _disappointed_ in him.

A tray with three steaming cups of tea and a plate of chocolate covered biscuits was already waiting on the square, glass, bottle green table when they entered the cosy living room. The curtains were half drawn already and the living room looked out on a part of the garden, which was mostly filled with flowers and currently had three doves picking the ground, searching for food.

Uncle Draco sat down on a dark blue armchair and pushed the tray more towards the middle of the table to clear space. The stone shards clattered down on the table when he upended it and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You gathered all the pieces?" he asked and slipped his wand out of his pocket.

Albus was pulled down by his dad on the couch right across from the blond man and was handed a biscuit.

"Yes, I got them all," Dad replied and took a careful sip of his tea. "This is good tea," he remarked surprised.

The blond wizard snorted, but didn't look up from the broken statue parts. "Of course it is. Bad quality is banned from this manor," he sniffed and then glanced up at Albus, who was staring morosely at his biscuit. "What happened to the statue?" His tone was blank, not giving anything away what he really thought about having to repair the statue after gifting it not even a week ago.

Albus bowed his head and bit harshly on his lip as he tried to ignore the burning threat of tears building up in his eyes. He really, really didn't want to tell what had happened. He didn't want to …

Startled he looked at his hand and grimaced; his biscuit was crumbled between his fingers and the chocolate bits melted on his skin, making it sticky.

"Come here," Dad murmured and cleaned his hand with a damp cloth. Green eyes studied him solemnly. "Albus, what's wrong?"

Albus shook his head, refusing to look up at either one of the adults. His face felt uncomfortable hot and he just wanted to curl up and disappear.

"I'm not angry, Albus," Uncle Draco murmured when it became clear that the young boy wouldn't utter a single word. "I'm just curious, because I know you would take good care of it. But accidents happen." He was waving his wand above the shards; a concentrated frown etched onto his forehead as he murmured something underneath his breath.

"Albus," Dad mumbled and a large, warm hand descended on his head, caressing his hair. "You can tell us. We're not going to be mad." He was pulled closer to his dad, pressed against his side as dad's arm came around his shoulders. "Did – did mum take the statue?"

"She – she's m-mad that U-uncle Draco g-gave me t-the dr-dragon," Albus stuttered and tears rolled down his cheeks. The words poured out of his mouth suddenly, even though he wanted to keep silent about it. "Mu-mum took i-it fro-from the shelf, and, and said she w-was go-going to t-t-throw it away. I – I di-didn't want that, tri-tried to st-stop her and – and then the drag-dragon fell on the fl-floor."

"Damn it, Ginny," Dad sighed and he rubbed his forehead tiredly.

"What did she think I had done to the statue? Cursed it?" Uncle Draco asked idly; his gaze was trained on the jagged pieces. They were slowly floating around each other, creating a lazy whirlwind.

"Yes, she thought you had put a spell on it," Dad muttered and grimaced.

Uncle Draco's head flew up and he stared speechlessly at the dark haired man; his hand hovering above the broken statue parts.

"I already told her how ridiculous that was," Dad murmured and rolled his shoulders; throwing the blond an apologetic look.

"I didn't mean fo-for the dragon to fall," Albus sniffled and rubbed his eyes. Embarrassment flowed through him as he realised that he was crying like a baby. He was almost eight years old! Big boys like him shouldn't cry about something like a broken statue!

"I know you didn't, Albus," Uncle Draco spoke soothingly and his gaze – which had cooled after the mention of mum thinking he had cursed the dragon – softened when his eyes landed on the small boy. "Don't worry about it. It's your mother who should - "

"Draco!" Dad interrupted him sharply and Albus looked up just in time to catch the odd look being shared between the two men and he furrowed his eyebrows.

What did that look mean?

A blond eyebrow rose up. "Don't tell me you agree with what she did and said?" His voice had noticeably cooled down and one of the shards of the statue bumped against his hand.

"No, I don't," Dad bit out and he looked and felt tense. "That doesn't give you the right to do the same thing as her."

Uncle Draco snorted harshly and he shook his head; the corners of his mouth quirked in a strange, stilted smile. "Oh, don't worry, Harry. She and I are in two very different leagues, as you should know all too well."

Dad's face tightened and he cast a quick glance at Albus, who stared back at him bemused. What were they talking about? What were those two leagues? Was Uncle Draco talking about Quidditch leagues? Were there even different Quidditch leagues? He was becoming more and more bewildered with every second that passed and he didn't like that feeling at all. He knew he was missing something – something very obvious – but he couldn't place his finger on what it was exactly that he was missing.

All he knew was that it had something to do with his dad and his uncle.

"Mimmy!"

Albus jumped when a brown eyed house elf suddenly popped up next to him. Instead of addressing Uncle Draco, though, she looked expectantly at dad and it took the boy a few seconds before realisation struck him that his dad had called for the house elf and _not_ his uncle.

"Can you make that special chocolate dessert for my son?" Dad requested and smiled faintly as he nodded at Albus. "He wants to try it out."

Mimmy chanced a look at Uncle Draco and when he nodded his consent, she nodded; her big ears flapping back and forth with the action. She turned to Albus, bowed and held out her small hand.

"Mimmy is takings little master to kitchen!" she declared and gave him an encouraging nod when he looked back at her uncertainly.

"Go on, Albus," Dad smiled and patted his back. "Mimmy makes amazing chocolate desserts. I promise you won't regret it."

"But my statue …" Albus' weak protest died out as he stared longingly at the half rebuilt statue in front of him.

"It's almost done, Albus. The next part is a bit tricky, though, so it's best if you go with Mimmy," Uncle Draco explained; his attention back to the floating pieces.

"Okay," Albus mumbled reluctantly and accepted Mimmy's hand.

He felt a soft tug behind his bellybutton and when he opened his eyes next, he found himself seated at a round, old wooden table with a cup of warm chocolate milk already waiting in front of him.

"Little master is sittings here," Mimmy told him solemnly as she started to bustle around the kitchen. Two other house elves instantly started helping her. "Mimmy wills be makings dessert for little master."

Albus really wanted to know what dad and his uncle were talking about now – because that they were talking about something was obvious due to the fact that dad had suddenly sent him away with a house elf, all just to eat dessert. Dad _never_ let him eat dessert before dinner.

So what had been so important that Albus had to be sent away? Was it about mum? About the statue or maybe about their work?

* * *

The one time Albus actually tried to sneak out of the kitchen, he found himself being guided back to the table with a new cup of warm chocolate milk pressed into his hands. The meaningful and reproachful look the house elf gave him was enough to discourage him of any further attempts to sneak out and eavesdrop on the conversation between his dad and his uncle.

He resigned himself to staying in the kitchen until either his dad or his uncle came to retrieve him.

* * *

He was just scraping the last bit of the chocolate cake – or was it more chocolate mousse? He had a hard time deciding which texture it resembled; all he knew was that it was very tasty – out of his bowl when the door to the kitchen swung open and dad appeared in the doorway.

He looked far more relaxed than when Albus had gone to the kitchen and the boy relaxed in return. The conversation with Uncle Draco couldn't have been that bad then, if dad could smile.

"Did you like the dessert?" Dad asked, grinning.

Albus nodded vigorously and was almost sad to see the empty bowl disappear into the sink instead of being refilled with the delicious dessert.

"That's good to hear. Draco finished fixing your statue, so we can go home as well," Dad informed him and beckoned to follow him.

Slight trepidation filled the young boy at the thought of returning home and confronting his mum – she really wouldn't be happy now – but he dutifully followed his dad back to the cosy living room where the blond wizard was just placing the dragon on the table.

Albus' mouth fell open at the sight of it; if he didn't know better, he would think that the dragon had never suffered a fall! Not a crack was left behind; the dragon was once again proudly glaring anyone down who dared to stare at him.

"Here you go, Albus. I added some extra layers of protection around him," Uncle Draco murmured and took the statue off the table again, offering it to the young boy.

Incredibly happy at the sight of his beautiful statue whole again, Albus eagerly reached out to accept the dragon; holding it reverently against his chest. The sharp horns pricked his collarbone, but he felt too giddy to be bothered by them.

"Thank you so much, Un - " Albus cut himself off as he was instantly reminded of his mum forbidding him from calling the blond 'uncle'. He worried his lip between his teeth and glanced back at his dad uncertainly.

"Albus?" Dad frowned, staring bemused at him.

"Can I still call him 'uncle'?" Albus asked apprehensively.

The frown on dad's face grew deeper. "Of course you can. Why wouldn't you?" he questioned bewildered.

"Mum said I shouldn't call him 'uncle'," Albus admitted softly; his thumb stroking anxiously over the dragon's belly.

A heavy sigh left dad's mouth and he rubbed both hands over his face. "Don't worry about her, okay, Albus? If you want to call Draco 'uncle', you can call him that," he reassured the young boy. "Now what do you say to Draco for repairing your dragon?"

"Thank you, Uncle Draco," Albus repeated, a tad shyly and quickly looked down at the dragon; a blush colouring his cheeks rose.

A cool hand tousled his hair briefly. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you again soon, all right?"

Albus nodded, his smile growing brighter, and walked back to his dad as careful as he could to avoid dropping the statue again.

"And Harry, don't forget to think about it," Uncle Draco said cryptically and looked blankly at dad; his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.

"I won't, trust me," Dad muttered darkly and inclined his head.

Albus waved at the blond in goodbye before dad took him back to the foyer, so that they could Floo back to his office.

When they were spit out in front of the desks dad squeezed his shoulder firmly. "Don't worry about mum, okay?" he said softly and his green eyes softened. "I'll talk to her about the statue."

The dark haired boy nodded silently; his arms were wrapped protectively around his dragon as he was steered back to the fireplace.

As the green flames swallowed up both him and dad, the boy wondered with a cramping stomach how angry mum was now.

For the first time in his life he was not looking forward to seeing his mum again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: So what do you think of it? Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> Next time: Albus doesn't look forward to his mother's reaction. A letter might bring some good news, though.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	8. Ephemeral Peace Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note/IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm not sure whether I'll be able to update this story again in two weeks. I have yet to finish the next chapter and university is draining away my energy. My exams are also coming up, so that takes away more of my time. I'll still try to finish the next chapter on time, but if you don't see an update in two weeks, you know why. Sorry, guys, but I've been too tired to write a lot lately (it's a miracle I actually get some projects done)
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: nothing special; sneaky James
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 8: Ephemeral Peace Part 1_

When the Floo spit them out in their living room, they heard a chair scraping back in the kitchen, but nobody came out to greet them and Albus' body felt suddenly heavy as if a weight was pressing down on him. The ticking of the clock drew his attention and he winced when he noticed that it was almost seven thirty. They had stayed at Malfoy Manor longer than he thought; it was almost time for him to go to sleep. That tiny bit of knowledge managed to drive out the question what Uncle Draco had been talking about at the end of their visit out of his mind completely. Surely his mum would even be madder now that it was this late already?

A warm hand pressed against his back made him look up, peering through his eyelashes.

"Come on; let's go to the kitchen," Dad said soothingly and steered him to the kitchen.

Upon opening the door, however, they abruptly halted when instead of mum, they saw Aunt Hermione talking to James, who was idly swinging his legs back and forth; his hands cradling a mug. They both turned their heads at hearing the door open.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" Dad asked perplexed; his hand disappearing from Albus' back as it fell down to his side. "Where's Ginny?"

"Talking to Molly," Aunt Hermione replied with a soft sigh and leant back in her chair. "She Floo called me when James refused to go with her."

Dad's gaze shifted from Aunt Hermione to James and he furrowed his eyebrows.

James merely shrugged and studied the content of his mug intently. "I don't like being with her when she's angry," he admitted stiffly.

"James," Dad sighed and rubbed his forehead, looking tired.

"She was saying mean things about Uncle Draco, dad. I don't like that!" James spat and glared; his brown eyes flaring up with anger as they looked at the older man.

"She didn't look happy," Aunt Hermione remarked and threw dad a weird look. "She didn't want to tell me what had happened, though, and James hadn't heard everything."

"I'll talk with Ginny about this," Dad muttered and strode over to the kitchen counter, slipping his wand out of his pocket. "This is getting too ridiculous. James, did you eat already?"

"No, but Aunt Hermione let me have some cookies and chocolate milk," James replied and held up his mug in the air.

"I'm going to be honest: I'm too tired to start cooking now," Dad sighed and turned around to look at the two boys – the youngest was still hovering in the doorway – wearily. "Would you two mind if I just made some sandwiches for you? You can eat them in the living room while I talk with Hermione."

The two boys mutely shook their heads. Albus wasn't that hungry to be honest and while the chocolate dessert of the Malfoy house elf certainly played a part in that, the main reason was that he just wasn't in the mood to eat when he knew that mum had left the house angrily – _again_. Would she even come back tonight? How long would she stay angry now? Maybe he should just …

"You got your dragon fixed," James remarked suddenly and pointed at the statue still being clutched against Albus' chest.

Green eyes shot to him in surprise and Albus nodded belatedly after a short pause. "Yes, Uncle Draco fixed it," he murmured and looked down at the dragon. Its heavy gaze was turned towards the window and the light in the room was reflected into its eyes.

"Albus, go put your dragon away. I'll have your sandwich ready in a minute," Dad told him and busied himself with preparing their dinner.

Albus nodded and turned around, leaving the kitchen again so that he could go up to his room. He might as well change into his pyjamas already when he was there. After a few seconds he became aware of a second set of footsteps following him up the stairs and he turned his head, seeing his brother closely behind him.

The two brothers were completely silent until they were in Albus' bedroom. Only after the youngest had carefully put his dragon statue back into his closet and had turned around again, did James open his mouth.

"What happened? I heard a lot of screaming and mum was really angry, but she didn't tell me why." He crossed his arms and a deep frown settled onto his forehead; the corners of his mouth turned down. He clearly wasn't happy with being left out of the loop.

Nibbling on his lower lip, Albus slowly changed into his pyjamas and he haltingly answered, "Mum found my dragon and she said she was going to send it back, because I can't keep something from Uncle Draco." Worrying his right sleeve between his fingers, he continued, "I wanted to stop her, but the dragon fell and dad took me to Uncle Draco and he fixed it again."

"Hm." James stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, before he returned his gaze back to Albus, who looked at him bemused. "What did Uncle Draco say?"

Albus cocked his head. "He said he wasn't angry, but then he started saying something about mum."

"What?"

"I don't know. Dad stopped him and then he called a house elf to take me to the kitchen. He and Uncle Draco talked for a long time, but I don't know what they said." Frustration rang through his voice. What had the adults been talking about? Why hadn't Albus been allowed to remain in the room?

James opened his mouth, but before he could say something, dad called downstairs. "Your sandwiches are finished!"

A conflicted look crossed James' face before he shook his face and pursed his lips. "Let's go eat," he muttered and disappeared downstairs.

Albus scratched his head, threw another look at the wardrobe which contained the newly restored Romanian Longhorn and then hurried downstairs as well.

"Don't spill too many crumbs on the carpet, okay?" Dad muttered with a faint smile and handed them their plates with their sandwiches with ham and cheese.

"We won't," James promised and started shuffling out of the kitchen.

"After you're done eating, you need to brush your teeth and go to bed. You still have lessons tomorrow," Dad continued with a stern voice.

James groaned dismayed and Albus grimaced slightly. With all that had happened tonight, he had forgotten that it was still only Thursday and he had another day of lessons before the weekend started.

The door closed behind them and Albus was already in the living room before he realised that his brother hadn't followed him. Bemused he walked back and found the older boy sitting on the floor, his ear pressed against the door with a concentrated frown on his face as he slowly ate his sandwich.

"James?" Albus whispered befuddled; his own hand clutching his plate.

James made an impatient gesture with his hand, waving his brother closer. "I want to know what dad and Aunt Hermione are saying, so hush!" he hissed, scowling at the younger boy for good measure, and returned his ear to the door.

Albus wanted to argue that eavesdropping was really bad and if they were caught, dad wouldn't be happy at all, but something in him made him sink down next to his brother. Guilt squirming around in his stomach, he leant forwards and pressed his ear against the door, concentrating on the conversation going on behind it. It wasn't easy to hear what they were saying; the door blocked sounds quite well and he had to concentrate really hard to catch some of the conversation even when his dad and his aunt raised their voices.

"… going to do about this, Harry?"

"I don't … like I'm doing something wrong, Hermione!"

"No, you're not, but Ginny …"

James and Albus gasped when a loud 'smack' on the table reverberated through the kitchen, as if someone had smacked their hand on the table, loud enough for them to hear it without any trouble. They stared at each other with mouths wide open before they pressed their ears back to the door.

"… needs to bloody accept the fact that I'm …"

"I know, Harry, but your arguments aren't … not good for the boys."

"What do you want me to …"

"I don't know, Harry, but it's not healthy to …"

"If she would just … Draco isn't … We're not children anymore, damn it!"

They seemed to calm down, because their voices became soft, making it impossible to continue their eavesdropping.

Sharing a look, both boys scurried to the living room before they could get caught by their dad.

"What do you think they said about Uncle Draco?" Albus asked subdued, poking listlessly at his half eaten sandwich.

James pursed his lips and huffed, playing with the crust of his own sandwich. "Don't know, but dad didn't sound happy."

"Do you think Aunt Hermione agrees with mum?" The youngest boy bit his lip and swung his legs weakly back and forth. Aunt Hermione had said that mum only needed some time and she had seemed to agree with dad that Uncle Draco wasn't a bad guy, but she also hadn't said anything about Uncle Draco to mum so far.

"Maybe," James muttered and shrugged. "She doesn't say anything about it."

They both jumped up when the door to the kitchen opened and Aunt Hermione entered the living room first. She smiled weakly at them, though she looked quite frazzled. Her cheeks were stained red and she absentmindedly pulled on her ponytail as she made her way across the room to them.

"Hey guys, I have to go home now," she said and kissed their foreheads. "Your cousins are waiting to hear their bed time story."

"Bye, Aunt Hermione," Albus murmured, weakly smiling.

James grunted a bit, but waved; his gaze remained fixated on his crusts.

She cast them one last smile, before the dark green flames swallowed her up.

Dad appeared in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his hands; a look of exhaustion was plastered across his face.

"It's time to go to sleep, boys," he said softly and indicated at the clock.

After the tiring day he had had, Albus was more than ready to go to sleep. His head was starting to feel fuzzy and his limbs heavy and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed, close his eyes and just forget about the entire awful day.

"What about mum?" James questioned and cocked his head; his hand hovering above his plate. His brown eyes glowed when the flames in the fireplace – turned back into a merrily gold and red orange colour – caught them.

His younger brother stared at him bemused; he couldn't figure out what the tone in his older brother's voice meant. He didn't sound angry per se, or sad, but just … strange. Albus didn't think he had ever heard that particular tone before.

Dad heaved a loud sigh and raked a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was. "I'm not sure when she'll be home, James," he admitted wearily. "I'll make sure to send her upstairs so you can kiss her goodnight when she comes home, okay?"

James shrugged, a complicated look on his face. "Okay," he mumbled and slipped off the couch. Carrying the plate with him, he stopped briefly to hug dad. "Good night, dad."

"Good night, James."

Albus hurried after his brother, his own plate clutched into his hand, only stopping briefly to embrace dad as well – if his embrace took longer than James' had, the older man didn't remark on it.

"Night, daddy," he whispered against dad's side.

"Sweet dreams, Al," Dad murmured and squeezed his shoulder, offering him a soft smile.

His last thought before he fell asleep was that he really needed to finish his letter to Scorpius tomorrow. Then darkness took over and sleep swept him away.

* * *

If mum came into his room that night, he would never know as he never once woke up.

* * *

Before Albus went to his classes the next day, mum took him aside briefly and told him she was sorry that his statue had been broken. Her face was drawn tight and she looked tired; her eyes slightly rimmed red.

"I was just worried, okay, sweetie?" she murmured and embraced him before pressing a kiss on his forehead. "You understand that, right?" Her warm, brown eyes looked at him questioningly.

He didn't understand why, actually. Uncle Draco putting a spell on the statue didn't make any sense to him at all, but he didn't want to start another fight, so he nodded meekly and gave her a weak smile.

It must have been the right way to answer, because she beamed at him and then gently ushered him to the fireplace, where his brother was already impatiently waiting.

No, he didn't understand why mum was so worried about a simple statue – but as long as she didn't try to throw it away anymore, he figured it was best not to think too much about it.

* * *

On Sunday dad's owl brought back a letter from Scorpius. Albus' surprise at having received a letter so quickly – he had only sent it Friday afternoon and Scorpius tended to take at least three days to answer, depending on which parent he was staying with – soon turned into realisation as the content of Scorpius' letter told him why his friend had been so eager to reply back.

Next weekend, the annual Starlight fair would take place in Knightsbridge. The Starlight fair was a combination of a market offering various rare goods – ranging from potion ingredients to Wizarding candy from all over the world and from expensive clothing made from rare material out of faraway countries to precious gemstones pulled out of the deep depths of the oceans – and attractions aimed at both adults and children. It was set up to celebrate the existence of magic – for children it was just another fantastic way to spend their weekend. James and Albus had attended the fair two years ago with their parents – on their rare weekend off together – and Albus had been in awe of all the sorts of magic that he had seen being practiced that day. He had a lot of fond and happy memories of that day.

Scorpius would be going to the fair on Saturday with his father and he asked if he would see Albus and James there as well.

"Albus, have you seen the Quaffel of the Quidditch Cup playset?" James demanded and leant his upper body inside Albus' bedroom.

Albus startled and whipped his head around. "Eh? No, maybe it's still downstairs?" he suggested, remembering they had last played with it in the living room five days ago.

"Hm, maybe, but - " James cut himself off when he caught sight of the letter in Albus' hand. "Scorpius sent you a reply already?" He sounded surprised.

Albus nodded, waving the letter in the air. "Scorpius asks if we're going to the Starlight fair next Saturday."

His older brother's face lightened up at the mention of the fair. "That's right! I had almost forgotten that the fair is next week. Maybe we can get dad to take us again."

Both boys knew all too well by now that their mum wouldn't want to go to the fair if she knew they would encounter Uncle Draco and Scorpius there.

Albus swallowed and stared at the letter before laying it down on his desk. Wouldn't mum think it was strange if they only asked dad to go to the fair?

"Let's go ask them," James said impatiently and beckoned the younger boy to follow him.

Albus jumped off his chair and followed his brother; a small frown etched onto his forehead. "Them? But mum won't be happy if she sees Uncle Draco," he whispered in protest, wringing his sleeves between his fingers.

After that disastrous Thursday things had been weird in their home. Their parents weren't really fighting – at least Albus hadn't heard them arguing like before – but they weren't exactly happy or relaxed either and it put the boy on edge. He really didn't like it when his parents fought, but he also disliked this weird atmosphere clinging to their home now.

"It'll be fine, you'll see," James said dismissively and practically burst into the kitchen where their parents were preparing lunch; Albus entering meekly behind him.

Dad looked up surprised from the potatoes he had been peeling and mum raised her eyebrows, taking a step back from the cooking pots.

"James, something you need, sweetie?" Mum asked, a trace of amusement worming its way through her voice.

"Next weekend it's the Starlight fair, can we go, please?" James asked without preamble, looking at mum pleadingly. "Albus and I really want to go on Saturday, because that's the best day!"

Their parents shared an odd look and Albus tensed up slightly. He didn't understand what that look meant, but he knew enough to recognise that it wasn't a good look.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Mum sighed and dried her hands on a dishtowel. "But we can't. I have training until seven on Saturday and your dad has an assignment for work. We're both going to be home late."

"But," James protested, turning pleading eyes towards dad.

Dad smiled wryly. "Sorry, Jamie, but Saturday is impossible for us. We can take you two on Sunday, though, if you really want to go."

"But they don't have a lot of games for us on Sunday," Albus pointed out quietly. It was true; Sunday seemed to be mostly reserved for events aimed at adults. They barely had had any fun that day.

"I know, Albus," Mum murmured and looked at him with softened eyes. "But your dad and I both have to work next Saturday, sorry."

"Fine," James groused out and then his hand slipped around Albus' wrist tugging him with him, ignoring mum's slightly exasperated voice telling them to come back.

Disappointment whirling inside of him, Albus trudged back upstairs, allowing his brother to haul him with him.

"I'll write to Scorpius that we can't meet him at the fair," he muttered and slipped behind his desk again. He really had wanted to see his friend again and it stung that he wouldn't be able to do that. Who knew when they would be able to see each other again?

"You do that." James scowled and marched back into his own room, shutting the door louder than was necessary.

Albus bit his lip and started writing, trying to ignore the disappointment lurking in his belly.

It wasn't as if he wouldn't have other chances to see Scorpius again, but still …

* * *

"Mum's going to say no," Albus whispered worriedly as they made their way downstairs that Tuesday afternoon.

Glittering brown eyes glanced at him and his brother grinned. "No, she won't. Just let me ask, okay?"

Albus nodded slowly, but bit his lip as he uncertainly followed James to the living room where mum was busy studying the new training schedules she had received from her Captain. Scorpius had sent him a letter back this morning – sounding already more cheerful as he was back at his father's place – and in response to Albus' letter that they wouldn't see each other on Saturday, the blond boy had stated that Uncle Draco would be willing to take them with him to the fair. His father didn't mind, Scorpius had reassured his friend in the letter, because he had agreed almost immediately after Scorpius had told him about Albus' letter.

Albus had been quite ecstatic until he had suddenly realised that going with Uncle Draco and Scorpius to the fair would require them to ask their parents for permission – and mum would definitely say no once she heard who they would be going with.

James however appeared quite confident that they would get permission and Albus decided to trust his brother this time.

"Mum, can we ask something?" James asked when they entered the room and mum came into view.

Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she was bent over various parchments, studying them intently.

"Hm?" she murmured distractedly, jotting something down quickly with a frown marring her forehead. "What, James?"

"You know the fair this Saturday?"

Mum made a sound in acknowledgement before sighing and pulling another parchment towards her.

"One of my friends is going there and his dad says he can take us with them, so can we go?" James asked, his voice tinted with innocence. Albus stared at him wide eyed, not understanding where James was planning to take this. "Then you and dad can go to work."

"Your friend's dad?" Mum repeated absentmindedly. "Have I met him before?"

"Yes and he doesn't mind. He said he get us back home in time for dinner," James replied, putting his hands behind his back. "So can we go? Please, mum?"

This time she looked up and while she still looked distracted, she also rolled her eyes fondly and smiled, shaking her head. "Fine, if your friend's dad doesn't mind, you can go. But you have to ask your dad first!" She looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"We'll ask dad tonight, we promise, right, Albus?" James stared at him meaningfully.

"Y-yes, we'll ask dad tonight," Albus said, still reeling from the fact that _mum had just given them permission to go._

"Okay then," Mum laughed and turned back to the papers. "You can play for a bit longer, okay? I have to start preparing dinner soon."

"Okay," James chirped and grinned. "Thanks, mum!"

"Thank you, mum," Albus muttered dazed before following his brother back upstairs.

When they reached the top of the staircase, James turned towards him with a smug look. "Told you mum would say yes!"

"How did you do that?" Albus demanded to know. James had made it look so easy and the younger boy was in awe. He had expected her to say no for sure.

James shrugged. "If mum's busy with something, she doesn't ask a lot of questions," he replied and grinned mischievously. "Now all we've got to do is ask dad and then we can go to the fair!"

Albus smiled excitedly back. At least dad wouldn't be against Uncle Draco taking them to the fair.

* * *

As expected dad agreed to take James and Albus to Malfoy Manor before he left to his office. He did seem surprised that mum had given permission for them to go with Uncle Draco, but as far as Albus could tell – by the lack of arguments that week – dad never spoke to mum about it.

While Albus felt guilty about keeping a secret from mum – because James hadn't been entirely honest – his excitement about going to the fair with his friend easily drowned the small sting of guilt.

He couldn't wait for Saturday to arrive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Please let me know what you thought about it in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next up: The boys attend the fair with Draco and Scorpius and run into someone they hadn't expected to see at all.
> 
> Remember that you can still vote!
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	9. Ephemeral Peace Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I somehow managed to finish this chapter this week, through working at it during the nights. Next week my exams finally start, so I can't promise a quick update in two weeks. I'll work on it whenever I can, naturally, but my exams take priority now. If I don't manage to post a new chapter in two weeks, you normally should expect one at the end of June.
> 
> Not entirely sure about this chapter, but ... *sighs*
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: bonding moment between the boys and Draco (I guess you could call it that?); slight cliffhanger at the end, I suppose. Not sure if it counts as a cliffhanger ...
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 9: Ephemeral Peace Part 2_

"You two better behave today, okay?" Dad gave them a stern look while he reached for a pinch of Floo powder. "If not, I'll know."

"We always behave, dad," James complained and huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Draco will tell me if you don't," Dad remarked and threw a quick look at the blond man leaning casually against the doorframe.

Uncle Draco gave a lazy wave. "If you brought them up to be well behaved, there shouldn't be any trouble," he smirked and straightened up. "Now go, before Kingsley starts wondering where you are."

Dad rolled his eyes, but nodded; giving James' and Albus' hair a quick tousle before he stepped into the fireplace and let the green flames sweep him away to the Ministry.

Uncle Draco commanded their attention by clapping his hands briefly. He quirked a blond eyebrow and said sternly, "I don't think I should have to remind you two of this, but just to be clear: there will be no wandering around the fair unsupervised. That means that you will stay with me at all times. No sneaking off or running off. The moment you step out of line, I will return you two home, understood?"

Albus nodded quickly, a bit taken aback by the stern tone his uncle took while James cocked his head, but nodded once. His brother seemed to understand that unlike with Uncle Ron, he couldn't mess with Uncle Draco unless he wanted to get to know the consequences.

"Aw, did I miss Harry?" Scorpius appeared in the doorway; his cheeks puffed up.

"You wouldn't have if you hadn't taken such a long time getting dressed," Uncle Draco pointed out mildly, but shook his head with an exasperated sigh when the pout on his son's face grew. "Harry will be back tonight to pick up James and Albus. You can say hi to him then, all right?"

"Okay," Scorpius muttered dejectedly before his eyes landed on Albus and he grinned widely. "Hi! Ready to go to the fair?"

Albus nodded and smiled; excitement bubbling again. He had almost not been able to sleep last night, because he was looking forward to going to the fair. Although this morning, he had briefly worried that mum would try to stop them, regardless of the fact that she had given them permission before. His worry had been unfounded, though, because by the time he and James had woken up and were eating breakfast, mum had already left for practice.

"Can we go now?" Scorpius asked and practically skipped over to Albus, clutching his wrist firmly as soon as he halted next to him.

Uncle Draco eyed them shrewdly, but snorted and inclined his head. He pocketed his wand and beckoned them to follow him. "Yes, let's go. We have to go outside, past the wards so that I can Apparate with you."

They went outside, passing a house elf who bowed as he opened the large, heavy door. The sun was fighting its way through the clouds and three peacocks had escaped the backyard and were mingling around underneath some large trees. One of them, the smallest, looked up when the four wizards walked past, but dismissed them quickly.

A tingle ran across Albus' spine when they stepped through the gate and he blinked, a bit perturbed by it. He rubbed over his neck, but the odd feeling dissipated as quickly as it had appeared.

Uncle Draco halted when they were a few feet off the gate and turned around to face them. "All right, this is how I'm going to Apparate with you three: one of you will hold me around my waist and the two other will hold on to my arms. None of you will loosen your grip until I say you can, understood?" He regarded them sternly and all three boys nodded. "I don't want to end up in the hospital, because one of you got Splintered. Now, who's going to grab my arms?"

James stepped forwards and stated, "I'll hold you around your waist. Dad says it's better for the youngest to grab the arms, because they're not strong enough yet."

Albus pouted, but couldn't disagree. Dad and the rest of their family always Apparated like that. He still didn't completely understand why, but it had something to do with the arms being smaller than the rest of the body, therefore making it easier for the younger children to hold on when they Side-Apparated.

Uncle Draco gave James an approving look and said, "Come on, then. We don't have all day."

The pout on Albus' face was quickly exchanged for a bright grin and he and Scorpius latched on to the elder blond's arms while James wrapped his arms around the blond's waist.

"Remember, don't let go until I say so," Uncle Draco warned and then Albus felt the familiar tugging sensation behind his bellybutton as his uncle Side-Apparated them all to the fair.

* * *

In spite of the fact that it was still morning, a lot of people were already bustling around and mingling with each other. The fair was set up in five streets in total this year; booth after booth were lined up and the owners tried their best to attract the public's attention by either shouting or performing magic tricks.

"Where do you want to go first?" Uncle Draco questioned as his gaze trailed over the various booths.

Before anyone could open their mouth, a loud explosion three booths down the street snatched their attention and their eyes snapped towards the commotion.

Right above the booth in question a large, red green dragon swapped his impressive wings up and down before it flew around in a wide circle, soaring above the spectators' heads. It opened its mouth to roar and when it bent its neck it showed a cat majestically sitting on the dragon's back, looking around calmly.

When the dragon landed on the ground it disappeared in a flash of glittery dust, leaving the cat standing proudly on the street before it jumped on the table of the booth.

Instantly three pairs of wide eyes swivelled towards the older wizard.

Uncle Draco rolled his eyes. "Apologies for the inane question. Let's look at that booth then, you dragon-obsessed brats."

They cheered and raced towards the booth, eager to discover what kind of dragon it was; Uncle Draco sauntering calmly behind them.

An old man with a snow white beard and a wrinkled forehead smiled friendly at them when they stopped right in front of the table. Several round boxes were stacked on the table and the cat was washing his white paw stoically next to the piles, not even glancing up once.

"Good morning, boys," the old man greeted cheerily. "Interested in the dragon?"

"Yes, what does it exactly do?" James inquired; gaze straying towards the boxes.

"It's a nifty form of magic, if I do say so myself," the man chuckled and plucked a box from the pile. He removed the lid and tilted the box towards them, so that they could see the glittery dust in it. "A lot of people want to ride on dragons, right?" They nodded fervently, eyes glued at the dust. "But as you surely know, you aren't allowed to keep dragons. This toy can help with that. You pour it on the ground, place your hand on it and imagine how the dragon looks. The magic takes on the form of the dragon and then you can fly on it for however long you like. If you don't want to fly anymore, you simply fly back down to the ground and the magic will go back into the box!"

"That's amazing!" Albus blurted out, placing his hands on the table, leaning in closer. Next to him Scorpius nodded; his face a picture of awe.

How fantastic would it be to have his own dragon to fly on? His cousins would be so jealous!

"That is quite innovative, but isn't the use of it dangerous for children? I very much doubt that parents would be thrilled if their children simply took off on such a dragon," Uncle Draco drawled and regarded the boxes with a critical eye. He looked dubious; a slight frown etched in his forehead.

"Oh no, sir! Each dragon can only fly sixty-five feet high and can't go further than two hundred and eighteen yards," the old man explained and chuckled. "I don't need any trouble with the Ministry."

"Hm." Uncle Draco tilted his head slightly; his grey eyes sharp. He looked down when Scorpius tugged at his robes. "What?"

"Can we have one of those, father?" Scorpius asked, looking pleadingly. "Please?"

"I don't know," Uncle Draco said slowly, frowning.

"They're so cool!" James said and pointed at the boxes. "Not even Uncle George has made something this cool!"

The older blond snorted and looked vaguely amused.

"It would be really fun to fly on a dragon," Albus mumbled shyly, drawing circles on the table top. He felt a heavy gaze resting on him and he looked up, right into speculating, silver grey eyes. He quickly returned his eyes to the table; his cheeks heating up a bit.

"How much would three boxes be?" Uncle Draco questioned after a short silence to Albus' great surprise.

"I've never seen such enthusiastic boys as your sons before and being told that I managed to one up the famous Weasley lad is incredibly flattering," the grey haired man laughed and waved his hand. "You know what? Normally it's three Galleons each, but you can have three boxes for five Galleons."

"Only one of them is my – never mind," Uncle Draco said dismissively and grabbed a deep dark green pouch out of his pocket. "You're sure about the price?"

The other man shrugged. "I created these dragons to make children happy. Looks like I succeeded, so five Galleons are more than enough for me."

"If you're sure," Uncle Draco muttered and dropped the five coins in the wrinkled, stretched out hand.

"Enjoy your dragons, lads, and enjoy the rest of your day as well!" the man said cheerily and handed over three boxes.

"Thank you!" all three boys chorused and they accepted their dragons with large grins plastered across their faces.

"I will never understand your obsession with dragons," Uncle Draco grumbled as he put away his money.

"Thanks for buying this, uncle," James grinned, holding the box carefully.

"Thank you," Albus muttered and hugged his uncle around his waist quickly before stepping back with a bashful smile.

His uncle looked taken aback by the unexpected hug, but recovered quickly and ruffled his hair. "Don't mention it," he sighed and smiled ruefully.

"I'm very happy with the dragon, father," Scorpius said and beamed. "Thank you for buying him!"

"Yes, yes, I know I'm going to regret this," Uncle Draco muttered and shook his head. "Where to next?"

"Paint on our faces," Scorpius replied determined. "Like last year, father!"

"Are you two allowed to have your faces painted?" Uncle Draco raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the two other boys.

"Yeah, dad let us do it when we were here last time," James answered and Albus nodded.

Having their faces painted had been fun, - though the brush had tickled a bit – even if mum had grumbled a bit when the time came to wash it off.

They found the face paint booth at the corner of the second street, manned by a sweet, young lady, who immediately showed them the designs they could choose from. Eventually they decided on their design and half an hour later, Uncle Draco was walking around with a cat (Scorpius); a lion (Albus) and a jaguar (James). The young witch had offered to paint Uncle Draco's face as well, but the blank look on his face had had her hurriedly addressing another witch, who had been patiently waiting for her daughter's face to get painted.

They wandered through the fair, stopping at whichever booth that caught their attention, whether it was one showing new magical toys or one that sold gemstones. They were so happy to be at the fair that they didn't even complain once when Uncle Draco took nearly half an hour to inspect three bottles of potion – of which he eventually only bought one.

* * *

They had just started eating the burger Uncle Draco had bought for them at a small food stand situated between two booths – both selling potions – when a very familiar voice made Albus stiffen.

"Albus? James?" Aunt Hermione halted in front of them, stunned. Astonished, brown eyes slid from the two boys to the wizard standing behind them. "Malfoy." She raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't expecting to see you here with my nephews."

"Harry couldn't take them, so I offered," Uncle Draco replied flatly. "Scorpius wanted to go, so …" He shrugged, but his gaze was sharp.

"What's that?" Rose asked curiously and pointed at the box James had clenched between his arm and his side. Her gaze slipped towards Scorpius and she smiled sheepishly. "I'm Rose and this is my little brother, Hugo. What's your name?"

"Scorpius," the blond boy replied after a pause. His face was abruptly blank and he shuffled closer to Albus, seemingly unaware that he was doing that.

Remembering that Scorpius was rather shy around people he didn't know, Albus reached out and tugged softly on Scorpius' sleeve. The small smile he received made him grin in return.

"Box, Jamie?" Hugo inquired softly, his hand clutching his mother's. His other hand held a half-eaten chocolate frog.

"A dragon," James answered, though he gave no further explanation. His attention seemed mostly focused on the conversation between their aunt and uncle.

"What kind of …" Rose started to ask, eyebrows furrowed, but was interrupted by her mother.

"Does your mum know that you're with Malfoy?" Aunt Hermione questioned, looking confused.

It said a lot that their aunt was questioning whether they really had mum's permission to spend the day with Uncle Draco.

Which they actually hadn't, really, as mum didn't know it was Uncle Draco who was their friend's father. Albus shuffled guiltily with his feet; his hunger diminishing slowly.

"He's called Uncle Draco, not Malfoy," James retorted, frowning. "And yeah, we asked her and she said we could go. Dad wouldn't have brought us otherwise."

"How exactly did you ask for permission, James?" Aunt Hermione narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious. She seemed to realise – or at the very least suspect – that something was up.

"I thought interrogation was in the job description of an Auror and not a task of someone defending the rights of magical creatures," Uncle Draco said sharply and stepped forwards so that he was effectively shielding both Albus and James partly from view. "He already said he asked for permission – why continue badgering him about it?"

"I am not badgering him!" Aunt Hermione looked offended; a flush colouring her cheeks. "I just know that James can be quite creative with how he asks something when he wants something and we both know that Ginny wouldn't – "

"James, did you ask your mother for permission to go or not?" Uncle Draco asked, never once looking away from their aunt.

"Yes, of course I asked," James huffed and scowled. "She said yes and then we asked dad who also said yes."

"I'm quite adept at picking up clues when someone is lying, Granger, and he doesn't sound like he's lying," Uncle Draco smiled thinly. "I very much doubt Harry is willing to create a fight over something as inane as a fair. They got permission from their parents, end of story."

Aunt Hermione sighed and rolled her shoulders. She looked apologetically at James. "Sorry, James, I was just surprised."

James grunted something that could have been a, "Fine", but still looked put out.

Rose shared a wide eyed look with Albus – both clearly felt the tense atmosphere hanging like a dark cloud above their small group. She broke eye contact first and tugged at her mother's hand.

"Mum, I'm hungry," she stated and bit her lip. "Can we get hotdogs?"

Aunt Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Didn't we walk past that stand half an hour ago?" she asked and sounded lightly disapproving.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry now." Rose blinked innocently.

"Hugo, do you mind hotdogs?" Aunt Hermione questioned and ran her hand through his hair.

The little boy shook quietly his head and tangled his hand in her robes.

"All right, we'll have to go back then," Aunt Hermione smiled wryly and quickly ruffled both James' and Albus' hair, giving Scorpius a polite smile. "Enjoy the rest of the fair, boys."

"Bye, Aunt Hermione," Albus said and elbowed his brother sharply in his ribs when the older boy didn't say anything.

He received a glower, but James muttered a half-heartedly, "Bye."

"Well, I certainly did not expect to walk into people like her," Uncle Draco remarked flatly and shook his head.

"I really asked mum for permission," James repeated and sounded almost sulking, scowling at the ground.

The older wizard raised an eyebrow. "I believe you," he said simply. "Now, if you are finished with eating, let us continue our way through the fair. We still have a fair few booths to discover, I dare say."

And just like that, the encounter with Aunt Hermione was pushed to the back of Albus' mind.

* * *

Dad arrived at the manor ten minutes after they did, brushing off the soot particles clinging to his Auror robes. To Albus' great relief, he didn't appear to be hurt; there wasn't even a tear in his clothing, so whatever assignment he had had today, it hadn't been a dangerous one.

"Looks like you guys enjoyed yourselves," Dad smiled and made his way to them, eyeing the various bags resting on the floor with amusement lurking deep in his green eyes; the amusement deepened when he caught sight of the painted faces of his sons and Scorpius.

"It wouldn't be the Starlight fair if purchases weren't made," Uncle Draco commented dryly from his place in the armchair. His grey eyes roved across dad quickly. "No trouble with the assignment, I take it?"

Dad snorted and plopped down on the couch next to Scorpius, who grinned widely at him and instantly clutched his arm – the older man ignoring Uncle Draco's scandalised look at the way he sat down – and replied, "No, not at all. The only danger present was my falling asleep from Lefadore's ramble. That guy could give Binns a run for his money, I tell you." He rolled his eyes.

"Look, dad, what Uncle Draco bought for us!" James grinned and shoved the box in dad's hands, who hastily grabbed it.

Dad raised the box to eye-level and studied it attentively before he carefully removed the lid. He seemed taken aback by the amount of glittery dust covering the bottom of the box. "What exactly is this?" he questioned carefully.

"A dragon," Albus grinned and showed off his own box. "The glitter changes into the dragon and then we can fly on it! But we can't fly too high or too far," he added with a slight pout. It was too bad that there were restrictions on the dragon, but he supposed he shouldn't complain too much. How many boys could say that they were able to ride on a dragon? Even if the dragon was made out of magical dust and not an actual one. "Scorpius got one too!"

Scorpius smiled a bit bashfully and showed his own box to dad.

"That is … interesting. I've never heard of a toy like this before," Dad mused and raised an eyebrow. He put the lid back on top of the box and returned it to James. "How much did they cost?"

Uncle Draco shrugged. "Not much."

"Draco," Dad sighed and clucked his tongue. "How much? Magic like that can't have been cheap."

"The seller gave me a discount, because the boys were so interested in it," Uncle Draco replied, not appearing willing to divulge the actual price.

Albus wondered silently why his uncle didn't want to tell his dad how much the boxes had cost; he chanced a glance with Scorpius, who looked back, equally confused.

"Seriously, just tell me the price," Dad repeated and his fingers twitched in that peculiar pattern that let Albus know that dad was becoming irritated.

His uncle must have seen dad's fingers twitching as well and he appeared to know the meaning, as he let out a small sigh and rolled his eyes. "Five Galleons for the three dragons," he answered bored and took a sip from his tea.

"You call five Galleons for three children's toys cheap?" Dad asked incredulously.

"Normally it was three Galleons for one. I'd say we got a pretty good discount. Besides, it's not like I couldn't afford it," Uncle Draco retorted sharply.

"Let me pay you back," Dad insisted and his hand went to his robes.

"There's no need for that, Harry," Uncle Draco said and his eyes darkened a bit. "It was nothing. Consider it gifts."

"They are a bit expensive to be simply gifts," Dad argued and scowled. "Just let me pay you back for Merlin's sake."

"I don't need the money," Uncle Draco repeated and glowered right back. A smirk suddenly bloomed up on his face and he leant back in his chair. "You know what? If you want to pay me back so badly, you can take me out for drinks. A new pub opened up a few blocks away from the Ministry; it sounds decent enough."

Dad looked ready to protest, but then he snorted and relaxed. "Yeah, sure, why not? It's been a while since you last could criticise something."

"I wouldn't need to criticise their establishments if they did a decent job," Uncle Draco sniffed. "I want decent drinks, though, Potter. None of those crappy ones."

"Naturally." Dad rolled his eyes good naturedly and then turned to address James and Albus. "Time for us to go home, boys. Mum will be nearly home." He grimaced and stood up. "She's going to have a blast when she sees your faces."

James and Albus both grinned.

After the amazing day they had had – save for the slight mishap with Aunt Hermione – they could handle the light scolding they would most likely receive from mum for having their faces painted.

Her scolding would be much more effective if she wouldn't look so amused.

* * *

When James and Albus arrived home that Tuesday afternoon from having played together with some friends after their classes had ended, they both instantly became aware of the odd atmosphere hanging in the house.

They shared a look and cautiously entered the living room where they found mum and Aunt Hermione sitting together on the couch. Aunt Hermione looked quite uncomfortably when mum turned around to look at them.

Albus stiffened at the angry look on mum's face.

"James, is there something you forgot to tell me about the fair? Like, say … The name of your friend's father perhaps?"

 _Oh no_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Does this count as a cliffhanger? Not sure. .-.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of the chapter in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me! 
> 
> Next week I'll be posting a new Drarry oneshot "Embedded Secrets" in case you are interested. Something to tide you over until the next chapter of this story LOL You can still vote!
> 
> Next time: Albus' birthday is an interesting one.
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	10. Happy Birthday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: After a hiatus of nearly a month - for which many apologies - I return with a new chapter! My exams recently ended so I still had to finish this chapter last night ^^; Getting into the swing of writing again after nearly a month was odd ... We're slowly nearing the ending, guys :) You can still vote!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: argument; foul language; small time skip
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 10: Happy Birthday!_

A heavy silence hung in the room; Albus barely dared to breathe, scared to attract mum's attention to him. They should have known that keeping quiet about the identity wouldn't end well for them.

 _Stupid, so stupid_ , Albus silently berated himself and his hand clenched tightly around the owl keychain hanging from his bag. His stomach felt heavy with guilt and something seemed to press against his chest. Mum was definitely mad now; there was no way this would end well.

"I didn't forget," James broke the silence, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He jutted out his chin and looked stubbornly at mum.

"You didn't tell me that you were going with that man! How many times have I told you that you aren't allowed to lie!" Mum snapped; her eyes flaring up in anger. "You know very well that lying is bad, so why did you - "

"I didn't lie!" James exclaimed loudly and Albus could practically feel the tension in his brother's body.

"You did lie, James! And I don't appreciate that!"

"I didn't lie! I told you we were going to the fair with a friend and his dad – Scorpius is our friend and his dad took us there. So I didn't lie!"

"You didn't tell me that - "

"Because you didn't ask!" James fired back; his cheeks gaining a dark flush. His eyes were narrowed with anger and Albus winced.

James was becoming angry and it wouldn't be long anymore before a shouting match would start between him and mum. While Albus tended to clamp up when one of his parents scolded him, James was known to not take the scolding silently. Dad had often wondered aloud whose fierce temper James had inherited.

"I shouldn't have to specifically ask things like that!" Mum raised her voice; her own cheeks steadily becoming redder and redder. "You should have been honest about who you were going with! You can't keep something like that from me and expect me to - "

"I was honest!" James yelled angrily and balled his hands into fists. "It's not my fault you didn't think to ask about his name!"

"Enough, James! Go to your room – you've got yourself a week of house arrest for not telling me the truth, mister!" Mum shot up from her seat, pointing at the staircase.

"A week? I didn't do anything! That's not fair!" James screamed and stamped his foot. "You can't punish me for something you forgot to ask!"

"Two weeks!" Mum snapped. "Do you want to make it three?"

"Ginny, don't you think you're - " Aunt Hermione started to say, but she was interrupted by the furious screech of James, before he stormed out of the room, throwing his bag wildly against the wall. The impact made one of the photo frames tremble and fall on the floor; the glass cracking.

"That's three weeks now, James Sirius Potter!" Mum yelled. "Your dad will hear about this!"

"I DON'T CARE!" James screamed from the landing before the door to his bedroom slammed shut.

Brown eyes – still alight with fury – turned towards Albus and he cringed, already preparing himself for his own berating, because he didn't tell the complete truth either.

Before mum could gear herself up for another scolding, however, Aunt Hermione pulled at her arm.

"Ginny, don't you think you went a little too far with this?" she asked, sounding slightly reprimanding. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a hint of disapproval.

Mum turned to face her and pulled her arm out of Aunt Hermione's grip. She placed her hands on her hips and snapped, "James shouldn't have lied to me, Hermione! He knows better than to do that!"

"Well, did you ask the name of this friend's father?" Aunt Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no, I – I don't think I did, but," Mum spluttered, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Then he didn't really lie, did he?" The older woman glanced at the young boy, still frozen in the door opening and flicked her eyes up.

Not daring to attract mum's attention, Albus barely dared to nod his understanding of his aunt's silent order and stepped silently back into the hallway, going upstairs as quietly as he could; his heart thundering loudly in his ears.

"I've told them before that I don't want them associating with him, and they refuse to listen to me!" Mum spat; the anger in her voice audibly building up again.

"Look, I'll never be his number one fan, but Harry …"

Aunt Hermione's voice was cut off when Albus closed the door of his bedroom. On unsteady legs he made his way to his bed and sat down gingerly on it, as if sitting down normally would create too much noise. Slowly he removed his shoes and his jacket and lowered his bag on the floor.

Everything was silent in the room next to him; James seemed to have chosen to fume silently.

They really should have known they wouldn't be able to get away with this; it was already a miracle that mum hadn't asked them about their gifts of the dragon toys. If she knew who had bought them, she would probably throw an even bigger fit.

He swallowed harshly and shuffled backwards, resting his back against the wall while his fingers fiddled with a fold in his crumpled sheets. When Aunt Hermione went home, would mum scold him then or would she have forgotten about it then? Would dad get angry at them because they hadn't completely told the truth?

Pressing his face against his upraised knees, he tried to block out the loud arguing that was going on downstairs between his mum and his aunt. The closed door muffled most of the sounds, but if he concentrated he could pick up tatters of sentences which were floating from the living room to upstairs. He chose not to.

Not for the first time he wondered why mum just couldn't accept that Uncle Draco was now part of their lives. Why did she have to be so difficult about it?

* * *

Dad arrived home half an hour before dinner would be served. Aunt Hermione had left an hour ago, but mum hadn't come up once. It had been quiet for a long time after his aunt's departure and when footsteps had started to make their way out of the living room, Albus had stiffened, nervous that mum would come up and scold him now.

Instead the footsteps had retreated into the kitchen and Albus had focused his attention back on his homework, albeit feeling slightly nauseous. He really didn't want to have a confrontation with mum.

The quill hovered above the parchment, dripping ink on the paper, as Albus picked up the muttered conversation between his parents. Neither of them raised their voice, but the boy wasn't certain whether that was a good thing or not.

His breathing turned superficial and he tensed up as he heard dad ascending the stairs. The door to his brother's room opened and Albus scrambled off his bed, hurrying towards his door so that he could open it a bit. He wanted to know what dad was going to say to James; his footsteps hadn't sounded like he was angry – whenever dad was really angry, his footsteps grew heavier as if he was stamping his anger out of him. His footsteps had sounded like they normally did – was that a good sign?

Careful to keep quiet – he didn't want his dad or brother to know that he was eavesdropping – he listened intently to the conversation taking place next to his room.

Dad sighed. "Your mum told me what happened," he said, his tone neutral.

"Yeah?" James muttered sullenly. He was probably staring down at the floor like he always did when he thought dad was going to scold him.

"You didn't tell me that she didn't know who exactly was taking you to the fair," Dad continued and there was the faint sound of rustling.

"She didn't ask," James said stubbornly. "I don't care how mad she is – I didn't lie, dad!"

"I know you didn't really lie, James, but keeping that information from her wasn't nice either," Dad replied and he sounded tired.

"But she didn't ask!" James insisted and there was a slight quiver in his voice. "I don't get why she's mad at me now when she didn't even ask me! It's not fair that I get punished for something she forgot to ask!" His voice sounded a bit strangled.

"I talked to your mum; she realises that she should have asked you," Dad said soothingly. "So you're not grounded, but you still have to apologise for breaking that frame, okay, Jamie?"

"Okay," James hiccupped.

"Come here," Dad muttered and the bed creaked softly as James presumably climbed into dad's lap for a hug. "I can guess why you conveniently left out Draco's name, but next time you should tell the whole truth, okay?"

"But if I had said who was taking us, she wouldn't have let us go," James remarked softly.

There was a pause before the older man said, "Maybe, maybe not, but that doesn't mean you can just keep information like that from either me or your mum. It's not nice."

"Fine," James muttered petulantly, clearly having other thoughts about that.

"Dinner is almost ready, so go wash your hands and then say sorry to your mum, all right?" Dad said after a short bout of silence.

James sniffed once more and mumbled, "Okay."

Albus hastily retreated to his bed when he heard James walking out of his room and pulled his homework on his lap just in time before dad knocked on his door and leant inside.

Dad raised an eyebrow, but if he suspected that Albus had been eavesdropping, he didn't mention it. "Dinner is almost done, Albus, so go wash your hands as well, okay?"

"Okay," Albus muttered and put his half-finished homework on his desk.

As he slipped past his dad, he felt a strong hand tousle his hair and he relaxed slightly.

"Don't splash too much water on the floor," Dad reminded him before he made his way downstairs.

* * *

Mum appeared to be no longer angry when the boys entered the kitchen. She hugged James when he apologised for the broken frame and then ushered them both to the table so that they could start dinner.

Not a word was said anymore about the argument.

* * *

On the fifteenth of April, Albus could hardly wait until his classes were over. Not that he usually enjoyed following the lessons, but today was a special day as it was his birthday – he was turning eight years old today! – and dad had said he had a surprise for him after his classes were finished.

Miss Gwendoline took pity on him and ended the lesson five minutes early. Scrambling he stuffed his books, parchment and quills into his bag and practically flew out of the room, brimming with excitement.

Dad was leaning against the wall, dressed casually in a thin sweater and a pair of jeans. He grinned when he spotted Albus running towards him, his bag bumping against his hip.

"Hey Al, your teacher let you out early," Dad greeted him and squeezed his shoulder affectionately.

"Yes, what's the surprise?" Albus asked without preamble, impatience making him jittery.

"You'll have to wait until your brother is here," Dad answered amused and winked. "I'll be Apparating you both to the place."

"So it's not home?" Albus prodded, nodding distractedly at his friend Sam who passed him with a cheery "Bye, Albus!"

"No, it's not home," Dad chuckled and refused to give any other hint.

Fortunately for Albus, James found them a couple of minutes later, looking quite eager as well, even though it wasn't his birthday they were celebrating today.

"Where are we going, dad?" James inquired, latching onto his side.

"You'll see," Dad said mysteriously and when he was certain that both boys were gripping him tightly, he brought his arms around them and Side-Apparated them to the mysterious place.

This mysterious place turned out to be the restaurant Dragon's Den in Diagon Alley and while Albus was already quite happy to eat there – they served delicious food, but his family only went to restaurants for special occasions – he let out a shout of joy when he spotted Uncle Draco and Scorpius waiting in front of one of the large, red tinted windows.

"Happy birthday, Albus!" Scorpius grinned and gave him a tight hug.

Uncle Draco squeezed his shoulder and offered him a smile. "Happy eighth birthday, Albus."

"I didn't know I would see you today!" Albus said excitedly; his grin so wide it was nearly splitting his face in half.

Dad chuckled and tugged the eight year old boy against his side for a brief hug. "I thought it would be nice if you could see your friend on your birthday."

"Don't you have to work?" James asked curiously, but he also appeared to be happy to see his uncle.

"Kingsley was all too happy to let us go home earlier," Uncle Draco replied dryly and rolled his eyes. "One would think he's sick of seeing us in our office."

"Well, he probably is," Dad said and shrugged. "I've heard him telling his secretary that we are too much of workaholics and he was starting to fear that other departments would think he was overworking us."

"Do a lot of work and they complain. Do only the barest minimum and they complain," Uncle Draco muttered and huffed. "I've always known that the Ministry can't make up its mind."

"Anyway, we might as well enjoy having some hours off and let's go eat. We're here to celebrate Albus' birthday, not discuss work," Dad said briskly and beckoned them to follow him into the restaurant.

True to its name, the furniture in Dragon's Den resembled the powerful creature. The building was divided into several booths; the plush, round seats were a vibrant golden red and the table was cut into the shape of a dragon's tongue of which one end was attached to the wall. The wall itself was carved into the image of a dragon with its mouth open, so that it looked like it was sticking its tongue out. Little dragon statues hanging from the ceiling spit out a constant stream of small flames which served as a way to brighten the room. The kitchen was closed off with a wooden door which resembled the lid of a treasury. When a customer wanted to alert the waiter or waitress, they had to press down on the red gem attached to the middle of the table. The red gem would lit up and a soft roar would be heard; as soon as the waiter or waitress had attended to the table, the gem returned to its normal state. Children up until the age of twelve would receive a small dragon toy after the bill was paid.

Suffice it to say this particular restaurant was Albus' favourite.

Having been here thrice before, both James and Albus knew immediately what they wanted to order, while dad, Uncle Draco and Scorpius took a bit longer to make their decision. As soon as the waitress – a pretty, dark brown haired girl – had written down their orders with a quill in the form of a dragon's tooth and flounced off to the kitchen, Scorpius turned towards his father, who was sitting next to Albus' dad.

"Can I give Albus my present now?" he asked eagerly, his fingers fiddling with the button of his shirt.

Uncle Draco looked contemplatively before he decisively shook his head. "No, wait until after you've eaten. Otherwise you'll be too distracted," he answered lightly and that only served to pique Albus' interest more.

What could possibly be in his present that would make them too distracted to eat?

* * *

If he had thought that classes had taken too long to end, then having to wait until they were done eating was a tad worse as he was desperate to know what his present contained. Scorpius refused to give any hints, only grinning and assuring his friend that he would definitely like his present.

They were half way through their meal when a woman – who looked to be in her forties and had grey streaks in her dark hair – interrupted them.

"Excuse me, Mister Potter?" she asked; her brown eyes trained on him.

Next to Albus, James snorted softly and rolled his eyes, nudging his brother in his side. Albus nodded, twirling his fork through his mashed potatoes. They both knew what would come next as it always happened whenever they were in a restaurant or any public place really. One of the reasons why they barely frequented restaurants.

"Yes?" Dad looked at her, his face blank, but his tone polite. That was usually how he looked when he was approached by someone he didn't know.

Immediately the woman presented a quill and a sheet of parchment. "May I have your autograph, please? I know it's been years already, but I'll never forget what you did for our world," she gushed; her eyes glittering brightly. "It's so amazing to meet you here! I never thought I would meet you in real life, but I guess it's my lucky day today! I'm so glad I came to this restaurant! Do you come here often?" Her cheeks were bright red by the time she ended her rushed speech.

"What?" Scorpius whispered, obviously stunned.

"Get used to it if you're with dad in public," James grunted and plopped a piece of hamburger in his mouth. He looked bored, not even deigning the woman worthy of a glance.

Not that she was paying any attention to them; all her attention was directed at dad.

"Acting quite familiar with someone you haven't met before," Uncle Draco remarked idly; his eyes resembled ice as they regarded the woman with an unknown emotion swirling in their depths. "Then again it did take nearly an hour before we got interrupted so I suppose the mass is learning manners."

"Draco," Dad said chidingly and clucked his tongue, throwing him an exasperated look.

The adoring look on the woman's face was instantly replaced with a scornful sneer. "And who the hell do you think you are?" she spat; eyes flashing up.

"Someone with enough manners to not curse with children nearby," Uncle Draco retorted sharply, offering a cutting smile.

"Oh please," the woman scoffed. "What would a Malfoy know about manners? Your entire family is nothing but filthy scum and you should - "

"Hey! If you don't have anything nice to say, shut up!" James snapped and glared at the woman, who seemed taken aback.

"Excuse me? You have quite a big mouth for - "

"And you don't?" James said annoyed and his glare intensified while Albus and Scorpius gaped at him in surprise. "Why do you think you can insult Uncle Draco? I don't know you, but Uncle Draco is a lot better than you are. You've been very rude and you should apologise to him."

The woman puffed up as if she was hit by a Balloon spell and snapped, "Who do you think you are, you snot-nosed little twerp?!"

Uncle Draco's wand appeared into his hand and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "How about you - !"

"That 'snot-nosed little twerp' is my son," Dad said, cutting off Uncle Draco, pressing down on his wrist so that he wouldn't raise his wand, and his voice was so cold Albus was surprised that none of their drinks had frozen over yet. "I'm going to say this only once: go away now."

The woman spluttered, shock and outrage clearly written all over her face, but something in dad's face must have tipped her off that staying here would be a very bad idea and she hurried back to her own table, not even looking back once.

"Something to see?" Dad inquired mildly and the man in the booth next to him – who had been staring wide-eyed at the spectacle – immediately turned away.

"You're way too nice to people like her, Harry," Uncle Draco complained and sniffed.

Dad rolled his eyes and then addressed James. "You know, I probably should scold you for being rude to someone else, but considering you did it to defend Draco, I'm going to let it go for now," he said, slightly amused.

"She deserved it," James muttered and returned to his meal.

"James is right," Scorpius murmured and frowned.

Dad threw him an indiscernible look and nodded at the plate. "Finish your meals, boys. I'm sure Scorpius wants to give Albus his present."

At the mention of the present, the mood lightened considerably and they all returned to their meals; chatter rising up once more.

It was only after they were eating again that Albus noticed dad removing his hand from Uncle Draco's wrist.

* * *

Scorpius' gift was a drawing made by him of a herd of unicorns surrounded by trees.

"It's a hint for your next present," Scorpius grinned and tapped on one of the unicorns. "Can you guess what father got you?"

"A small statue of a unicorn?" Albus guessed, his mind instantly flashing back towards the dragon statue standing proudly in his closet.

"No, try again." Scorpius clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at him expectantly.

Dad and Uncle Draco were eyeing the scene amused, sipping from their coffee. There had been a short, but fiery discussion about who would foot the bill, but dad had eventually won the argument. Now they were just finishing up their cup before they would leave.

"A stuffed toy?" Albus tried again, but the answer was once more negative.

He furrowed his eyebrows and stared intently at the drawing. What could Uncle Draco's present possibly be? It had to be linked to unicorns, but if it wasn't a statue or a stuffed toy, what was it then?

"Unicorn water?"

"No, guess again."

"A book about unicorns?"

"Wrong again!" Scorpius said in a sing-song voice. He clearly was taking pleasure in Albus' frustration at not being able to guess his gift.

James peeked at the drawing over Albus' shoulder. "Hugging a unicorn?" he suggested snickering.

"Yes! Well, more like petting, because they are very shy," Scorpius explained seriously.

"I get to pet a unicorn?" Albus stared at his friend in shock; his fingers tightening around the parchment.

He had never even seen a unicorn in real life; they were notoriously shy and tended to live in very remote parts of forests. They were known for avoiding people, even though there were some tales of unicorns allowing children near them.

"Yes!" Scorpius grinned widely, obviously pleased at Albus' reaction. "Father knows someone who takes care of unicorns and he said that we can go pet them for a little while if we promise to be careful."

"When?" Albus demanded, excitement brewing in his belly. "When can we see the unicorns?"

"Today," Uncle Draco replied calmly and looked at his watch. "In fact we should leave now, because otherwise we'll be late. I hope you like the gift, Albus. I know it's not a dragon, but …"

"I really, really like it, Uncle Draco!" Albus reassured him with a wide grin.

"Merlin, you spoil them too much," Dad sighed, but a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Lead the way, Draco."

"I don't spoil them. I'm just a master at finding the perfect present," Uncle Draco admonished him and then they walked out of the restaurant.

* * *

The Apparition brought them to the edge of a big, dark forest. The sun was slowly setting, casting its orange red rays onto the dark green leaves of the trees.

A very large man with a bushy beard and twinkling dark eyes stepped from behind a tree. "There the lads!" he said and his voice was heavy, but not unfriendly. "Great to see ya, Harry! Been a long time!"

"Hagrid," Dad greeted him surprised. "I'm sorry for not visiting in a long time. Work's been busy."

The man waved a large hand. "Dun' matter, Harry. Yer dad was busy too. So these are yer sons? My, they've grown up so much! Think I last seen 'hem when James was a toddler and Albus a baby! And you must be Scorpius!"

"Ah, yes, sir," Scorpius said, a bit shy.

"None of tha', lad! Just call me Hagrid!" Hagrid said dismissively.

Albus stared at the man wide-eyed. So this was Hogwarts' gamekeeper, the man dad had mentioned had been one of his friends during school and who had collected the photos for the family album? The man was huge!

"I assume you're the one taking care of the unicorns Draco mentioned?" Dad asked, throwing an odd look at Uncle Draco, who stared back blankly.

"Yep, herd is passing through the forest again and some of them are mingling around, like usual," Hagrid said jovially. "Still shy, but I think that they won't mind being petted by yer lads. 'Course, have to be careful not to spook them, but it'll be all right."

"Well, thanks for doing this," Dad smiled.

"No problem. Now come on! Can't waste time now; they're really fickle about when they go to sleep," Hagrid retorted and turned around. "Careful with yer steps! Don't want ya to hurt yerself!"

"So this is Hagrid," James mused softly next to him.

"You heard about him?" Scorpius asked curiously.

Albus nodded. "Dad told us about him. He was one of dad's friends when he was going to Hogwarts."

"Wonder if that means he was a friend of father," Scorpius wondered and then a stifled yelp escaped him when he nearly tripped over a protruding root.

* * *

Ten minutes later they each were carefully and softly petting the back and neck of the five unicorns mingling around a large clearing. They each had their own unicorn to caress, except for Albus' father and Scorpius' father, who were both carefully and warily petting the fifth unicorn together. They were wrapped in an intense discussion by the looks on their faces, but Albus couldn't make out what they were saying.

A moment later that didn't matter anymore when the unicorn he had been petting licked him across his cheek, making him yelp from the feeling of the wet, but rough tongue. A wet nose pressed against his cheek before the unicorn returned to eating the tall grass as Albus carefully petted his side.

This was probably the best birthday he had ever had.

* * *

Then the newspaper was delivered the next morning and Albus realised that sometimes good things came with a price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Ah, dramatic endings ~ Please let me know what you thought of the chapter in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> Next chapter: Ginny is really not happy with one particular picture in the newspaper ...
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	11. And So It Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Look at that: a chapter on time XD This one turned out a bit longer than I intended *coughs* I'm also surprised at the amount of reviews the previous chapter gathered, but I'm definitely not complaining! Keep them coming, I'd say!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: drama mostly
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Chapter 11: And So It Begins_

He didn't know what woke him up. One moment he was still asleep, dreaming that he was flying through the air on an pure white Abraxan, the next he was staring confused at his ceiling as the morning light crept through the gap in his curtains. The soft pitter-patter sound on the window announced that it was raining.

He turned onto his right side, intent on closing his eyes and going back to sleep as he didn't need to be up just yet, but try as he might, sleep managed to elude him and he huffed, sitting up. Scowling at his pillow, he ruffled his hair and yawned. His frown deepened when his eyes fell onto the clock on his nightstand, which announced that it was barely six thirty.

"Too early," Albus muttered, but even though his eyes felt a bit heavy, his body refused to go back to sleep.

With a sigh, he threw back his sheets and stood up, shoving his feet into his slippers. Another yawn escaped him and he rubbed over his eyes tiredly as he made his way across his room to the door, nearly tripping over a book that he had left on the floor for some reason he couldn't recall now.

Shuffling past his brother's room, he heard James softly snoring and he snickered. He knew his brother snored! The older boy never wanted to admit it, but now he had heard it with his own ears!

Gleefully – he couldn't wait to make fun of his older brother! – he crossed the landing and started to descend the staircase, his hand clutching the railing tightly. He only had a few more steps to go when his attention was suddenly caught by the conversation going on behind the closed door of the kitchen and he froze. He couldn't hear every word that was spoken thanks to the barrier in the form of the door, but what he picked up was enough to make him flinch.

" … hell do you think this photo …"

"What the hell are you even …"

"… this here, Harry! What the fuck is this?!"

"… keeping him from cursing that …"

"There is no woman in the …"

"… you implying?"

Heavy silence reigned for a while and Albus bit his lip.

Then mum said something too low for him to pick up, but whatever she said made dad laugh bitterly.

"Of course not. Ginny, seriously, you're being …"

"I'm being …"

They lowered their voices again until only murmuring filtered through the door of which Albus could make head nor tail. In spite of the fact that they no longer sounded angry, he remained on the staircase for a long time, not daring to enter the kitchen just yet. He didn't know what exactly the argument had been about, but he very much doubted they had resolved it quickly.

Which photo was mum talking about? What was in the photo that made her so mad at dad? The entire conversation didn't make any sense; what had a woman to do with a photo?

Eventually he forced himself to take the remaining steps as the grandfather's clock in the living room chimed seven times. As if on cue, footsteps neared the kitchen door and the door swung open, revealing mum with lips pressed together until they formed one line. Her face abruptly changed when she caught sight of Albus standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Albus! You're already awake!" she said surprised. "I was just about to wake up you and your brother."

"Just woke up," Albus lied, not wanting his mother to know that he had caught parts of her argument with dad.

"Your breakfast is on the table," she told him and smiled. "I'm going to wake up your brother now."

He nodded and entered the kitchen as mum went upstairs, wondering whether James would pick up how tense mum looked.

Dad pushed his chair back when Albus sat down and gave him a terse smile and a quick tousle through his hair. "Good luck with your test today, Albus," he said, draping his Auror robes over his shoulders.

"Thanks, dad," Albus said softly, pulling his bowl with cereal closer to him.

Dad gave him one last smile and then strode out of the kitchen so that he could Floo to his office.

Green eyes fell onto the newspaper carelessly discarded in the middle of the table and his spoon paused in its way to his mouth.

The large photo plastered across the front page with the screaming, bold title **"Intimate Dinner For Two Ex-Rivals?"** displayed the restaurant they had gone to yesterday – more specifically it showed dad still gripping Uncle Draco's wrist while talking to Scorpius and Uncle Draco throwing him an odd look. The young boy wondered what the strange emotion swirling in Uncle Draco's eyes was.

Whether it was the odd emotion in Uncle Draco's eyes or the strange title, something had angered mum again.

Albus was not brave enough to ask what was wrong with the photo. Absentmindedly, though, he thought that the picture looked nice – despite the fact that it had been the cause of yet another argument between his parents.

* * *

The argument about the photo was not brought up again – or if it was, it happened when neither Albus nor James were in the vicinity to hear it.

The air between mum and dad cleared up again after a few days had passed and Albus allowed himself to relax once more. Maybe the newspaper had been their final argument; maybe whatever dad had said had been enough to soothe mum's worries.

Or maybe the photo in the newspaper had just been the calm before the storm. A storm that would be way worse than any argument they had had.

* * *

Two weeks later, on Friday evening the second of May, James and Albus were half-heartedly playing a game of chess as they waited for their dad to leave work and come home. Mum's training had ended an hour earlier than usual due to one of the players having to go to Saint Mungos to treat an injury and she had picked them up from their grandparents' house. She had busied herself with training schedules before she had started working on dinner.

Dinner was nearly ready, judging by the mouth-watering smell, but dad still hadn't arrived home.

Mum leant into the doorway of the living room. "Did your dad Floo?" she asked and frowned slightly, throwing a look at the clock which displayed seven fifteen.

Albus shook his head, letting out a sound of dismay as James managed to defeat one of his pawns with his knight. "No," he replied and pouted, watching disheartened how James' knight roughly threw the defeated pawn next to the chessboard. Maybe he should ask Uncle Draco for chess practice as well; clearly James had got better with his advice.

"That's strange," Mum muttered and furrowed her eyebrows, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. "He didn't mention being home later today. Maybe I should – "

She was interrupted by a majestic, silver coloured stag bounding through the wall and halting in front of her. Dad's voice said, "Something came up. I'll be home later. Have dinner without me." The stag bent its head, scraped his see through hooves soundlessly over the floor before he dissipated into thin air.

Mum slowly breathed out and bit on her lip before she sighed and nodded at them. "Well, you heard your dad. Let's eat dinner before it gets cold. Clean up the chessboard, sweeties. It's nearly bedtime as well." She disappeared back into the kitchen where she started filling the plates with dinner.

"Do you think it's a mission?" Albus asked softly as he carefully inserted each chess piece back into the box, ignoring the outraged squawk of the white queen when he put her on her side.

James shook his head and placed the folded chessboard on top of the pieces before putting the lid back onto the box. He stood up and crossed the room to put the game back into the last shelf of the bookcase. "No, if it was a mission, he wouldn't have said he'd be home later."

"Oh yeah, that's true," Albus muttered and stood up, rubbing his hands over his trousers. If it wasn't a mission, what else was keeping dad from coming home on time?

"Come on, before our food gets cold," James murmured and together they made their way into the kitchen where mum was waiting for them with steaming plates.

* * *

Something was shaking his shoulder. He grumbled and pushed the offending thing away, curling up underneath the blankets. A sleepy whine escaped him when the thing returned to shake him again.

"G' way," he slurred, not even opening his eyes as he batted at the thing disturbing his sleep.

"Al, wake up!" someone hissed, following by a harsh shove.

"Ouch!" Albus shot up, squinting in the darkness. The weak moonlight being filtered through the curtains allowed him to make out the kneeled form of his brother next to his bed. "James? What are you doing? I was sleeping!" he whined, rubbing over his shoulder which still smarted a bit from the forceful shove.

"Dad's back," James whispered and jerked his head towards the door. "Come on, he just went into their bedroom. I want to know what they say!"

"How late is it?" Albus grumbled, but slipped out of his bed, knowing that James wouldn't be ignored.

"A bit after midnight," James murmured dismissively and silently left the room, beckoning his younger brother to follow him.

After midnight? Albus groaned and hurried after his brother, blinking rapidly in an effort to wake himself up. Thank goodness it was weekend, because he already knew he would be too tired to get up early come morning.

"Did you stay up until dad came home?" Albus questioned incredulously, stepping out of his room.

James threw him an annoyed look and pressed a finger against his lips. "Yes, now hush and follow!" he whispered irritated and they crept silently towards their parents' bedroom, careful not to step on any spot that creaked and would betray them.

A soft orange glow fell through the gap between the door and the doorframe of their parents' bedroom and they halted right next to it, making sure they would remain out of sight. If one of their parents heard them, they would be in big trouble.

" … put on non-active," Dad sighed and the creaking of the floor announced that he was pacing back and forth.

"Why?" Mum inquired warily.

"One of the suspects we put in custody claims that Draco cursed him several times," Dad replied and a hint of anger was audible in his voice.

James and Albus stared wide-eyed at each other. Uncle Draco had cursed someone? Surely that wasn't true!

"And did he?" Mum asked flatly.

"Of course not!" Dad snorted. "But it's going to take a while to proof that."

"Why? If you say he didn't, they'll probably let him off the hook," Mum retorted.

"I can't, because I wasn't there," Dad muttered. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to help him build his case. I'm planning on going to the manor tomorrow to help him."

"What? Where were you then?" Mum asked befuddled, for once not remarking on the fact that dad was going to visit Uncle Draco tomorrow.

"We brought two into custody and I was interrogating one and he the other. Ron had joined me and Smith was with Draco, but conveniently Smith was gone when Draco supposedly cursed the suspect," sneered Dad.

"If you weren't there with him, how are you so certain he didn't curse the suspect?" Mum questioned incredulously.

"Because I know him, Ginny! I've been working with him for eight months now – he wouldn't curse someone unless they attacked _him_ first," Dad responded sharply. "This entire situation is just bullshit!"

"Look, Harry, you have to admit that his track record isn't that great. Have you forgotten that you distrusted him during your sixth year?" Mum bit out. "And with good reason as it turned out!"

"For Merlin's sake, Ginny! Would you fucking stop it already!" Dad snapped angrily. "What the hell does he have to do to proof that he can be trusted now? He's changed – isn't it time you get over this ridiculous grudge?"

"Ridiculous gru – you know what? Forget it, I'm going to sleep. You best go to sleep too, Harry," Mum said shrilly. "You don't want to keep your precious Draco waiting tomorrow!"

"Prec- the fuck, Ginny?" Dad spluttered, but mum didn't answer anymore and instantly the room turned dark.

Albus became aware of how frozen he stood when James pulled softly at his sleeve and he nearly stumbled at the unexpected touch. Large, brown eyes gazed at him unreadably and James jerked his head to their bedrooms, indicating that they should go back now.

Throwing a last look at the dark and silent room, Albus inclined his head and they made their way back to his bedroom, freezing every time they heard the sheets rustling in their parents' bedroom. The walk back seemed to be endless and the eight year old only became aware that he had been holding his breath the entire time when he expelled it with a loud 'whoosh' sound when they finally reached his room.

The two brothers stared at each other for a long time until Albus broke the silence with a small voice, "Do you think Uncle Draco really cursed someone?" He didn't want to believe it, because the older wizard had been nothing but gentle and friendly with them, but how else had he landed in trouble?

Determined James shook his head. "No, he wouldn't do that!" he protested, but kept his voice low. "Unless he was attacked first; you heard what dad said. That other man has to be lying."

"But what happened in their sixth year, then?" Albus questioned, furrowing his eyebrows as his rumpled sheets became the victim of his nervously fiddling fingers. "Mum said dad didn't trust Uncle Draco – why?"

James clucked his tongue and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know, Albus, but remember, Uncle Draco said that he and dad didn't get along at first. But dad trusts him now, so that's the most important thing now."

"Do you think Uncle Draco is in big trouble now?" Albus asked worriedly. Did Scorpius know about this? If so, what did he think about it?

"I don't know, Albus, but if he is, dad will help him out of it," James reassured him and cast a glance at the clock, wincing visibly when the hands of the clock displayed a glaring twelve fifty. "We better go to sleep now. Mum is not going to be happy if we can't get out of bed in the morning," he added dismayed and stood up from his crouching position.

Albus refrained from pointing out that he _had_ been sleeping, but James had woken him up. Instead he nodded and watched his brother sneak out of his room, the door letting out a barely audible 'squeak' sound.

Throwing one last troubled look at the clock, Albus crept back into his bed and shuffled underneath his blankets, clutching them high over his shoulders; the conversation between his parents playing on repeat in his mind.

Sleep took a long time to whisk him away.

* * *

When he was woken up by his mother at eight o'clock, he knew it would be a tiring day. His eyes felt gritty, his head heavy, and all he wanted was to return to bed and catch some more sleep. That was impossible, however, as mum bustled around him and James, urging them to finish their breakfast so they could Floo to their grandparents' house. Mum had training until four and dad had left early to Malfoy Manor to help Uncle Draco – at least that was what Albus presumed, as the older man had already disappeared by the time the two boys slumped into their kitchen chairs.

Silently Albus swore to himself he would never get up in the middle of the night again, even if James kept shaking him; his brother ignored the foul look he threw him and instead listlessly drew his spoon through his cereals.

"Come on, sweeties, time to get changed," Mum muttered, clearing the table with a quick flick of her wand. "Grandmother is waiting for you."

Hiding another yawn behind his hand, Albus tiredly made his way back to his room, staring longingly at his inviting looking bed as he exchanged his pyjamas for a pair of comfortable trousers and a thin, green sweatshirt. The weather was starting to warm up again after the cold winter and rainy spring, but that didn't mean it was already T-shirt weather.

He nearly jumped three feet in the air when a harsh 'tick' landed on his window and he whipped around. The familiar, large, grey owl stared back at him with an impatient look; he pecked the window again and fluttered his wings agitatedly.

Albus hurried to the window and opened the latch, allowing the window to swing open and the owl flew inside, dropping the letter he had been holding in his beak onto the desk. He flew around the room three times, but apparently had been told not to wait for a reply, as he flew out of the window, nearly hitting Albus with his wing.

"Strange," Albus muttered, eyeing the letter warily. It was the owl Scorpius used to reply to his letters, but usually the owl waited around for a reply, unless he knew that dad's owl was around. Dad's owl was delivering a letter to a friend of his dad's, however, so why hadn't Scorpius' owl waited?

"Albus! You ready?" Mum called downstairs and the boy snatched the letter from his desk, stuffing it into his pocket. He would have to wait until he was at his grandparents' place, before he could open it.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" Albus shouted and hastily pulled on his shoes, before bounding downstairs again.

"All right, James, Albus, here we go," Mum announced and ushered them inside the fireplace, throwing a pinch of Floo powder into the flames as she shouted, "The Burrow!"

They tumbled out of the hearth and almost instantly got hugged by their grandmother. "So glad to see you again, Albus, James," Grandmother cooed and dropped a kiss on their forehead. "There are still some waffles in the kitchen if you like."

"They already had breakfast, mum," Mum chided, but she was smiling, indicating that she wasn't annoyed.

"They are growing boys," Grandmother chuckled and winked at them.

A bit more awake at the thought of delicious waffles, James and Albus left their mum alone with grandmother and hastened to the kitchen, where they found their grandfather reading the morning newspaper.

The corners of his warm, blue eyes wrinkled when he smiled at them. "Good morning, James, Albus," he greeted and turned the page of his newspaper.

"'Morning, grandpa," James said, sounding way more cheerfully and plopped down on the chair, snatching a waffle from the pile.

"Hello, grandpa," Albus greeted in return and sat down next to his brother, eyeing the plate with fluffy looking waffles thoughtfully. He wasn't sure whether he should go for a golden brown waffle or not. When he shifted a bit, he felt something slightly stabbing him in his thigh and he was reminded of Scorpius' letter waiting to be read.

While James set on devouring the waffle and grandfather returned to the newspaper, Albus plucked the letter out of his pocket and opened it, smoothing down the wrinkles. The handwriting was shaky, wobbly, as if Scorpius had been upset when writing it.

_Dear Albus_

_Father got home last night really upset. He didn't say a lot, but he said he can't go to work for a while, because a bad man said that father hurt him. I know that isn't true, because father would never hurt anyone, but he says that the Ministry wants to see proof. He said that your dad is going to help him, but I'm really worried. I have never seen father look so upset._

_Somehow mother found out about this and she's here now, having a fight with father. She wants me to go home with her already, but I don't want to go yet! I want to stay with father!_

_I don't know what to do, Albus, because mother and father are really mad right now. I can hear them yelling downstairs and I don't want to hear that anymore!_

_I don't know what to do now._ _I hate -_

_I think I hear your dad's voice now. I wish you and James could visit me now. Then I wouldn't have to be lonely._

_From Scorpius_

"Albus?" James asked curiously, placing his second waffle on the plate. "What's wrong?"

"It's Scorpius," Albus replied troubled and showed his brother the letter. "He says his mum wants take him to her house already and his parents are having a fight about what happened to Uncle Draco. Scorpius sounds really upset."

"What happened?" Grandmother walked into the kitchen, frowning when she caught the frown on Albus' face.

"Scorpius sent me a letter just now. His parents are fighting about something that happened at Uncle Draco's work and Scorpius is very upset," Albus explained, starting to become upset himself. He really liked Scorpius and it saddened him to imagine how upset the blond boy must be now with his parents fighting. His friend had told him weeks ago how much he had hated the fights between his parents; he had actually been glad when his parents officially separated, because that meant that the fighting would stop.

"He wants us to visit, but dad went to Malfoy Manor alone," James added; a frown of his own marring his forehead after he had read the letter. "He says that his parents are really mad at each other now."

Grandmother and grandfather shared a look, before grandmother held out her hand. "Let me see, honey," she said and James handed her the letter after giving Albus an inquiring look, who just shrugged.

It wasn't as if there was anything in the letter that was really a secret.

"Oh dear," Grandmother sighed as her eyes slid over the parchment. "That poor boy sounds so upset. It can't be easy hearing his parents fight."

An idea formed in Albus' mind and he hesitated only briefly, before he reminded himself that it was his best friend who was upset now. He wanted to help the blond boy.

"Grandma, do you think you can connect the Floo to Malfoy Manor?" he inquired apprehensively and she looked surprised. He continued quickly before she could interrupt him, "Just to talk to Scorpius for a bit, so that we can help him. I don't like him being upset."

Grandmother heaved a sigh and pursed her lips. She regarded him contemplatively. "I'm not sure whether we will be able to connect, sweetheart," she answered gently. "The Malfoys and the Weasleys have never got along. It's possible his father won't like us opening a Floo connection."

"But we can try, right?" Albus asked; a note of desperation slipping into his voice. He wringed his hands together. "Uncle Draco isn't like his family. I'm sure he'll agree when we tell him it's because we want to talk to Scorpius!"

James remained silent for once; merely looking speculatively back and forth between his younger brother and his grandmother.

"Harry does insist that he has changed," Grandfather remarked quietly, his hands motionless on top of the paper.

"I know, but enough to allow a Floo connection?" Grandmother grimaced, shaking her head. "There's a lot of bad blood between our families, Arthur, you know that."

Grandfather sighed heavily, rubbing over his balding head. "I know, Molly, trust me, but from what Harry has told us, that boy only has our grandsons as real friends." He gave her a peculiar look. "The war is over, Molly," he added softly. "We can at least give it a try, right?"

Grandmother stood still for a moment, before she nodded, tapping her wand erratically against her thigh. "You're right, Arthur, we can try." She turned to face a hopeful Albus. "All right, sweetie, we're going to try to open the Floo between the two houses. I'm afraid I can't promise that it will work, though."

"That's fine!" Albus hastened to reassure her. "I understand!"

Really, he did. While he didn't understand what exactly had caused the centuries old argument between the two families, he was already more than happy that his grandparents were willing to set aside the past to help him help Scorpius.

"Come on then," she smiled and walked back to the living room, James and Albus following closely behind.

She kneeled down in front of the fireplace, her heavy skirt draped over the floor, and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder. "Here goes nothing," she murmured and threw it in the fire. Instantly the flames turned a dark green and she stated clearly, "Malfoy Manor."

For a moment – a moment that seemed to last hours in Albus' mind – nothing happened. The flames continued to flicker an eerie green, crackling loudly in the otherwise silent room.

Right when grandmother looked at them apologetically and said, "Sorry, Albus, but it looks like they - ", a head appeared in the fire, proof that the connection had been established between the two houses.

It wasn't Scorpius or Uncle Draco or even a house elf, though.

It was someone completely unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Now who could that be? ~
> 
> Small remark: Molly and Arthur might appear to give in easily, given their dislike - to put it mildly - of the Malfoys, but Harry had talked to them about Draco (when Ginny wasn't around) and while they'll never be fans of the Malfoys, they've become somewhat neutral towards them. Plus Molly didn't want to say no when she saw how upset Albus looked.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	12. Hanging on a Thread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Only one more chapter to go after this one, guys. In the next one, I'll give you more information regarding the epilogue and two side stories :)
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: more drama; fighting; some time skips; I think those are the most important warnings
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this one!

_Chapter 12: Hanging on a Thread_

Emerald green eyes gazed at them calmly. "Molly," Dad greeted calmly. "Can't say I ever expected you to try to connect to Malfoy Manor."

"I must admit I didn't expect you to be the one to agree to the connection," Grandmother replied and blinked surprised. "Considering the head of the household is usually the one who allows the connection."

Dad let out something that was short of a real sigh. "I was keyed into the wards a while ago," he told her. "I felt someone trying to connect and because he's still arguing with his ex-wife, he told me I had to deal with the Floo."

She frowned. "Are you sure he won't mind the connection between our homes?" she asked warily.

"It's not like you have any malicious intentions," Dad said dryly. "I'm pretty sure he won't mind. I assume there's a reason why you suddenly tried to connect?"

"Ah yes, Albus received a letter from his friend. The poor boy is rather upset because of his parents' argument and Albus wanted to talk to him to calm him down," she explained, gesturing at Albus, who took a step closer.

"Scorpius says he can hear his parents fighting and he sounded really upset in his letter, dad," he explained and bit his lower lip, fidgeting with a loose thread of his shirt.

"Damn it," Dad sighed and looked aggravated. "I told them to quiet down before Scorpius would hear them!" Determination flashed up in his eyes. "Wait a moment, Al. I'm going to discuss something with Draco. I'll be back in a bit, so don't close down the Floo."

Before either one of them could open their mouth, dad disappeared from the fire.

"What kind of discussion is dad talking about?" James questioned, cocking his head to the left.

"Not sure, James," Grandmother admitted, but she threw a speculative look at the fire, making Albus wonder whether she _did_ have some sort of clue as to what dad's discussion with Uncle Draco would be about. When she caught him looking, she smiled at him reassuringly. "But I'm sure it'll be fine."

All three turned their heads when grandfather appeared in the doorway. "Did you manage to get through?" he inquired curiously; his eyes flicking over to the green flames.

"Yes, Arthur," Grandmother replied and she threw him an odd look when she continued, "Harry agreed to the connection."

Grandfather blinked, looking taken aback. "Malfoy keyed him into the wards then?"

"Apparently."

Albus furrowed his eyebrows. "What's so weird about dad being keyed into the wards?"

"Well, that's - "

"All right, I have a suggestion," Dad announced, appearing in the Floo again.

"What kind of suggestion, dear?" Grandmother asked, turning back to the fireplace.

"Would it be okay with you two if Scorpius stays with you today?" Dad asked. "Just until I'm back to pick up James and Albus. It'll give Miss Greengrass the chance to calm down as well."

Grandmother hesitated. "Well …"

"Please, grandma?" Albus asked pleadingly. "We'll be good, I promise!"

"Yeah, we won't fight," James added.

Grandmother chuckled amused. "That would be a first." She sobered up and bit her lip, tapping her wand against her thigh. "I don't know … Is Malfoy really okay with this? Does he trust us with his son?"

"He trusts me," Dad replied simply; the flames casting odd shadows across his face. He didn't add anything else as if that answer was a good reason on its own.

"Please, grandma?" Albus repeated, a bit desperate. Having Scorpius come over would be even better than talking to him through the Floo. Distracting him from his parents' argument would be a lot easier if they could talk personally.

"What do you think, Arthur?" Grandmother sighed, looking back at her husband.

The older man shrugged. "I have no problem with looking after Scorpius. I don't have to be at the office today."

Grandmother pursed her lips and looked thoughtfully before she inclined her head and smiled faintly. "Send him through, Harry. We'll look after him."

"Great," Dad smiled. "I promise you he'll behave."

"We raised seven children, dear. I doubt he'll be worse than George and Fred were," Grandmother chuckled and stood up, brushing off some soot of her skirt.

Dad laughed. "True. Okay, I'll send him through now." He threw James and Albus a warning look. "You two behave as well, okay?"

"We always behave ourselves, dad," James complained with a pout.

Dad snorted and shook his head before he disappeared out of the fireplace again. Not even a minute later, the fire spat out Scorpius, who was clenching a backpack in his hands as he looked around nervously; his pale cheeks splotched red.

Grandmother stood up, giving Scorpius a reassuring smile. "Hello, dear. I'm Molly Weasley, James' and Albus' grandmother. You can call me grandmother too if you'd like."

"Good morning," Scorpius greeted shyly; his eyes flicked up for a moment before they returned to their study of the couch.

"What do you have in your backpack?" James inquired curiously.

"My homework and a book," Scorpius replied; his grip on his backpack slightly relaxing now that he was talking to someone familiar.

"We can work on our homework later," Albus said, stepping forwards. "We have cards here – we can play Exploding Snap. Do you want to play?"

A tentative smile grew on the blond boy's face. "Yeah, I want to play Exploding Snap."

He still didn't look completely all right, but it was a start. Albus and James would just have to make sure that they could distract their friend completely.

* * *

They were heavily involved in a game of chess – Scorpius playing against James – when the sound of the front door opening and shutting close reached Albus' ears. Footsteps approached and entered the kitchen.

"I thought I could find you here, mum," Uncle George chuckled.

"George! It's so good to see you!" Grandmother greeted enthusiastically. "It's been a while!"

"Nearly a week and a half," Uncle George admitted and there was the creaking sound of a chair when he sat down. "Shop's been keeping me busy. I'm thinking of hiring someone to help me out."

"You should," Grandmother advised him and a mug was set down on the counter. "You look a bit tired, George. You really need to rest more."

"I know, I know," he muttered sheepishly and sighed. "But there's no rest for the wicked, right?"

"I really don't understand why you all just can't rest on time," Grandmother sighed, sounding disapprovingly.

"Where's dad?" Uncle George asked, deflecting the comment.

"Upstairs, reading a letter he got from one of his colleagues."

"So he decided to stay - "

"Are you sure that move is allowed?" James demanded, narrowing his eyes at the chessboard.

"Of course it is. Father taught me that one," Scorpius replied, grinning.

"Who else is here besides my nephews?" Uncle George asked surprised.

"Their friend, Scorpius."

"Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius," Uncle George mumbled, clearly trying to remember where he had heard that name before. "Wait, Malfoy's kid?!"

Albus winced and tensed up, shooting a quick glance at his brother. James flicked his eyes at him before he casually ordered his bishop to take one of Scorpius' pawns. The blond boy seemed to ignore everything that wasn't the game at the moment, which Albus supposed was a good thing. He wasn't sure how Scorpius would react to Uncle George's unbelieving tone.

"Yes," Grandmother replied calmly. "Harry brought him here a few hours ago while he's working on a case with Scorpius' father."

"Huh." Uncle George was silent for a while, until he suddenly snorted harshly. "Ginny doesn't know about this, does she?"

"No, she doesn't. She had already left for training when Harry brought Scorpius here."

The older man hummed, sounding vaguely amused. "Well, he better hopes he's here before she is then. Otherwise it won't be a pretty sight."

"Ginny has been talking to you about it?" Grandmother sounded careful, a bit weary as well.

"She has shown up once or twice in my flat to rant, yes," Uncle George answered dryly. "She seems to have a bit of … trouble, accepting Harry's partner. Not that I can really blame her, considering what happened, but all the same, it's becoming ridiculous."

"I'm sure they'll work it out," Grandmother said confidently.

Uncle George hummed, but he didn't sound really convinced.

Albus wasn't sure what to think about the conversation he had just heard. He realised it hadn't been nice of him to eavesdrop on the conversation between his uncle and grandmother, but it had been kind of difficult to ignore the talking going on right behind him as he sat on the couch, waiting for his turn to play chess.

Did his mum go to Uncle George every time she had disappeared after an argument with dad? Or did she go to other people as well? If so, how many people knew that she fought with dad about Uncle Draco?

He couldn't lay a finger on why it bothered him so much to hear that mum went to complain to other people about dad, but the heavy feeling in his belly refused to go away.

"Do you want to play now, Albus?" Scorpius broke through his thoughts, looking at him expectantly; his eyes glimmering with mischievousness. "James wants to stop, because he's losing," he crowed.

"I'm not losing," James said snippily, rising from his seat on the ground. "I'm just not interested anymore."

"Uhuh," Scorpius uttered sceptically, but he was still smiling widely.

A large contrast to how he had been a few hours back when he had just arrived.

"So, are you going to play now?" James prodded him as he plopped down on the couch, swinging his legs idly back and forth.

The younger boy forced himself to smile and took James' place in front of the chessboard. Maybe a game of chess would keep his mind off his uncle's conversation with grandmother.

It was worth a try at least.

* * *

Dad Floo'd into the Burrow ten past three, looking slightly tense. Uncle George had left right after lunch, having entertained the boys – even Scorpius – with some of the new pranks he had been developing and adjusting the past two months. Scorpius had been shy around him, but Uncle George seemingly hadn't cared, enthusiastically explaining the modifications he had done to a particular type of candy (grandmother had refused to let them try it out).

"Dad!" Albus greeted the older man with a smile, hastening towards him for a hug.

"Hey there, Al, James, Scorpius," Dad chuckled, squeezing Albus' neck affectionately before brushing a hand over James' hair and accepting Scorpius' hug. "Did you behave?"

"They were like angels," Grandfather laughed, stepping inside the room. "They spent the last two hours doing homework, actually."

Dad looked surprised, before he smiled proudly. "That's good that you already spent some time doing homework."

Both James and Albus couldn't resist preening at the praise. Their parents had always urged them to finish their homework as soon as possible so that they would have the rest of the time to play, but playing was always more fun than doing homework.

Dark green eyes shifted to Scorpius, who straightened up a bit underneath the gaze.

"Let's get you back home, okay, Scorpius? Your dad's waiting for you."

Scorpius stiffened visibly, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. "Mother?" he asked apprehensively.

Dad sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "She went back to her house. She said she'll be picking you up at the usual time."

"So I'm staying with father this weekend?" Scorpius inquired hopefully, relaxing again now that he didn't have to leave with his mother immediately.

"Yes, you're staying with your dad for the rest of the weekend," Dad reassured him and offered his hand. "Do you have everything with you? Your dad is becoming a bit impatient." The corners of his mouth twitched as a hint of amusement danced in his eyes.

"Yes, I have everything," Scorpius replied and then dropped his backpack in order to hug Albus. "I'll see you next time, okay, Albus?"

"Definitely," Albus smiled, returning the hug.

Scorpius turned to James with a mischievous grin. "Are we going to finish that game of chess next time?"

"If I don't get bored with it," James retorted and stuck out his tongue.

Scorpius laughed and picked up his bag again, practically skipping towards dad. "Okay, I'm ready," he chirped and waved at grandmother and grandfather. "Thanks for letting me stay here!"

"It wasn't a problem, dear," Grandmother reassured him with a sweet smile.

"All right, let's go before your dad has a fit," Dad muttered dryly, but before he could take some Floo powder, the flames in the hearth flared up green, spitting out –

"Mum!" Albus said surprised and stiffened. Mum wasn't supposed to be here yet – didn't she have training until four? It wasn't even three thirty yet!

"Training ended early for me, so I thought I would come pick you – oh," Mum cut herself off abruptly when her eyes fell on Scorpius, who froze underneath her stare.

Meekly he waved at her, stepping closer to dad. "Hello, Mrs. Potter," he said nervously.

Mum blinked and ignoring Scorpius, asked dad, "What is he do - "

"I'll be right back," Dad interrupted her brusquely, guiding Scorpius to the fireplace. "Scorpius has to go home."

Without giving mum a chance to say something – and judging by the pinched look on her face, she had wanted to say something – dad took a pinch of Floo powder, threw it into the flames and said firmly, "Malfoy Manor!"

The flames had barely turned red again before mum whirled around, scowling at grandmother. "You let him stay here?" she hissed, putting her hands on her hips. "You even connected the Floo with them?!"

James and Albus shared a look; dread started to fill Albus' stomach and he feebly hoped that there wouldn't be yet _another_ argument between their parents. Why couldn't mum just accept Uncle Draco and Scorpius already? It had been months – would she ever give in?

Grandmother clucked her tongue; a hint of disapproval ringing through her voice as she replied, "His parents were arguing and he was upset, Ginny. There was no harm done in him coming over for a few hours. The boys behaved themselves perfectly."

"It's not our problem if his parents argue," Mum retorted snippily, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Whose idea was it to have him come over?"

"Harry suggested it and we agreed," Grandfather answered calmly.

"Of course he did." A bitter chuckle escaped her and she beckoned James and Albus to follow her. "Come on, James, Al; we're going home."

"But dad isn't here yet," James pointed out bemused, cocking his head to the right.

"Your father knows where we are," Mum said flatly and practically herded them to the fireplace.

Albus caught the odd look being shared between his grandparents before the green flames took them away to their own home.

* * *

James and Albus were quietly working on a jigsaw puzzle in Albus' room when they heard the Floo downstairs activating. They paused at the exact same moment and stared at each other before they both turned to look at the open door. Albus wondered whether it would be a smart idea to go downstairs now. While mum hadn't been angry at them, had even acted like she normally did, Albus just knew that she wasn't about to forget that Scorpius had been at their grandparents' home. How angry she exactly was, Albus didn't know, but he was fairly sure that an argument between his parents was just waiting to happen.

"Took you long enough to drop him off," Mum said stiffly.

The clarity of her voice indicated that she had to be standing right at the stairs, so sneaking out of the room was out of the question now. Albus figured that mum didn't know he had left the door of his bedroom open.

Dad sighed. "I had to talk with Draco a bit more before I could leave." He sounded weary, very tired.

"One does wonder what you could possibly still have left to say to each other after spending hours there today," Mum retorted coldly.

"Are we really going to do this now, Ginny? Again?" Dad said tersely and footsteps approached the kitchen.

Mum's reply was drowned out by the slamming shut of the kitchen door and Albus flinched, his gaze falling back towards the unfinished puzzle. He suddenly didn't feel like playing anymore.

Judging by the look on James' face, he shared that particular sentiment.

* * *

The argument about Scorpius' presence brought change with it – and not the good kind. It seemed that seeing the blond boy at her parents' house had triggered something in their mum. Ever since that faithful Saturday afternoon she was more snappish towards dad, quicker to argue with him if he returned even a minute later from work.

Dad himself started to spend longer days at work, both because of new cases and to help Uncle Draco clear his name. Whenever either James or Albus inquired how the case against Uncle Draco was going, dad would smile reassuringly and tell them that it was going all right.

Dad's longer hours caused yet another bout of friction between their parents; they tried to keep their arguments behind closed doors, but inevitably there were times when either James or Albus walked past and picked up enough to realise that there was yet another fight going on. Not that the few things they did manage to hear when they walked past made any sense.

After yet another evening when dad hadn't come home for dinner, Albus woke up in the middle of the night to hear them arguing in their bedroom. He lay there stiffly in his bed, a thin sheet covering his legs, as shreds of the argument drifted into his room.

"… the hell were you?!"

"At work! Where else would I be?"

"Why don't you tell … You're barely … getting sick and tired of constantly …"

"… even listening to yourself?!"

Albus turned on his side, staring blankly at the wall. It took a long time before he fell asleep again.

* * *

On the fifth of June, after yet another week of arguments – though their parents had managed to make up on the twenty-third of May when they celebrated James' birthday; a small reprieve – dad didn't come home at all. Mum went to bed after midnight; Albus knew this because he hadn't gone to sleep yet either, waiting to hear the tell-tale sound of the Floo indicating his dad was home.

The sound never came and eventually sleep caught him.

The next morning he was startled out of his sleep by the banging of the kitchen door.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Mum snapped angrily.

Dad groaned, sounding tired. "Don't shout. Draco and I celebrated his birthday yesterday and we – I fell asleep at his place before I realised it. Sorry."

"You fell asleep?" Mum hissed. "Were you drunk?"

"Maybe a bit," Dad admitted and sighed loudly, sounding aggravated when he continued, "What's the problem? It's not like Ron and I were never once drunk when we celebrated each other's birthday. I've slept over at their place as well and you weren't angry then!"

"You didn't let me know that – "

"Neither did I when I accidentally slept over at Ron's!" Dad interrupted her loudly. "Damn it, Ginny, it was an accident! I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm sorry, okay."

"And Malfoy didn't think to wake you up?" Mum said snippily.

Dad laughed incredulously. "He drank even more than I did. He was probably asleep quicker than I was."

"Where did you sleep?"

"I told you, I fell asleep at the manor."

" _Where_ , Harry?"

"In a bedroom in the manor," Dad replied impatiently. "For Merlin's sake, what does it matter?"

"Whose bedroom?" Mum's voice was frosty.

Silence reigned loudly until dad suddenly chuckled; an ugly, cold sound that made Albus shiver as he lay there wide eyed.

"Really, Ginny? That's a new low."

"A new low, huh? Then why aren't you answering me?"

"I'm not going to answer a ridiculous question like that. Now lower your voice, before the boys hear you."

Too late for that – at least in Albus' case.

The rest of the argument took place behind the closed door of the kitchen.

* * *

The arguments only grew worse to the point where James and Albus desperately looked forwards to the weekends, because that meant that they were either staying at their grandparents' or Aunt Hermione's and Uncle Ron's house and they had a few blessedly argument free hours. During those hours they didn't have to listen to the fierce and sometimes loud fights taking place between mum and dad. They didn't have to hear mum yell at dad or dad shouting back if he was pushed too far by mum.

Sometimes Albus wrote about the fights to Scorpius and while his friend tried to reassure him, tell him that things would be fine eventually, Albus had the nagging feeling that instead of things becoming better, it would only become worse and worse until …

Yes, until what? The eight year old didn't know and that scared him.

Before, their parents at least made up after each fight; now there were just periods of silence before another argument would start.

Albus didn't like to think about it or even admit it, but sometimes he thought it would be better if his parents decided to –

No, that was a bad thing to think about. Staring at the reassuring words of his best friend Albus tried to make himself believe that everything would get better.

They had to, right?

* * *

But, on the eleventh of July, everything collapsed for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: One big mess coming up in the next chapter.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me!
> 
> Next chapter: A message from Draco causes Ginny to give Harry an ultimatum. The result? One she didn't see coming at all.
> 
> See you in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	13. And Then the Dragon Roared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And here I am with the last chapter - which turned out to be a bit longer than I expected LOL I had a lot of fun writing this story - even though I thought at first that it was just a stupid idea - and I'm really happy that you guys enjoyed it!
> 
> ATTENTION: at the end of the chapter, I'll give information about projects related to these stories, so please don't forget to check that out!
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: drama; angst; vague fluff; minor time skips
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this last chapter!

_Chapter 13: And Then the Dragon Roared_

"Is everyone ready?" Mum asked distracted and her heels clacked against the floor as she entered the living room.

"Seems like it," Uncle Ron muttered, tugging at his right sleeve before Aunt Hermione put her hand on his and gave him a chiding look.

"It's itchy," Albus complained, tugging at his collar. The collar of his robes wasn't too tight, thankfully, but it scratched against his throat.

Mum tutted her lips and pulled his hand away gently. "Don't pull at it, Albus. You're going to stretch it too much," she scolded him gently.

Stretching it too much would be a good thing if you asked Albus. He scowled at his dark blue robes and fidgeted. Across from him, James was fiddling with his own collar, but as he wasn't tugging at it particularly harshly, mum left him alone. Lucky him.

The Ministry was holding some kind of charity event and their parents, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron had been invited, like every year. This year both Albus and James were allowed to attend the festivities; Rose on the other hand was having a sleepover with one of her friends and Hugo was staying with their grandparents.

If Albus had to be honest, he wasn't particularly in the mood to go to the charity event. Just like every other event he and his brother had been dragged to, they would be spending the evening watching people cosy up to their parents, thanking dad again and again for winning the war – as if they hadn't thanked him in all those years before. Meanwhile he and James would be mostly ignored by the other attendees or be cooed at and have their cheeks pinched as if they were still babies, while people marvelled at how much they looked like their parents. It was becoming tiresome to hear the same thing over and over again.

At the same time, though, events like this one allowed them to stay up later than normal, which still gave Albus some kind of thrill, even though he had stayed up later than he was allowed to before. It was just different when he was given permission to go to bed at a later hour.

"Looks like we're ready to go then," Dad announced, tugging with some distaste at his own robes. He caught Albus looking and winked at him.

"Can't be late after all," Mum added and the smile she threw dad was less strained than how it usually was lately.

There had been some kind of … peace the last three days at home. Peace that Albus dearly hoped would stay. He really didn't want to hear his parents fighting anymore. It caused a sick feeling in his stomach and it made him wonder whether this was how Scorpius felt as well whenever he had heard his parents arguing with each other.

"That would be such a shame," Uncle Ron muttered lowly and he received a jab to his side from Aunt Hermione.

"It's not that bad, Ron," Aunt Hermione scolded him and rolled her eyes.

Uncle Ron looked at her incredulously, but merely shook his head and rose up from the couch. "Let's get this over with," he sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

Mum opened the jar in which they kept the Floo powder and took a pinch out of it. Right at the moment that she opened her mouth to open the Floo, a silver jaguar came running through the wall, halting right in front of dad.

It was Uncle Draco's voice that floated through the open mouth of the jaguar, "Harry, I know this is a bad time, but Scorpius – he – he fell ill and we're at Saint Mungos now. The Healers – they're working on him and – and they suspect that it was someone else's doing, but …" The message was cut off as if Uncle Draco hadn't managed to finish it.

The sheer panic and worry, though, had been clearly audible and Albus froze, staring at the jaguar wide eyed as the Patronus snorted, rubbed its head against dad's leg before it dissipated, leaving a shocked silence behind.

His best friend had been cursed? Someone had hurt him?

"That doesn't sound good," Uncle Ron said warily, the first one to break the silence.

"Who on earth would curse a child?" Aunt Hermione asked horrified before her eyes widened and she bit her lip as she threw dad a worried look.

"Did someone curse Scorpius?" James asked in a small voice and he looked pale; his eyes too wide for his face.

Albus remained silent as shock started to settle in. Surely it had to be a mistake? There was no reason for someone to curse his friend. Scorpius had merely got the flu, right? Something easily treatable.

But if it was a simple illness, Uncle Draco wouldn't have sounded so panicked. The man had always sounded in control of himself. To hear him so distraught was _terrifying_.

"Give my apologies to the host," Dad said abruptly as he strode over to the fireplace. "I'm going to Draco."

"Of course, Harry, we'll tell them that - " Aunt Hermione started soothingly, but she was interrupted by mum.

"Excuse me? Are you seriously going to the hospital now?" Mum asked incredulously.

Dad raised an eyebrow and answered impatiently, "Of course I am. Draco needs - "

"Malfoy is capable of taking care of himself," Mum snapped and she squared her shoulders, as if she was preparing for a fight. "He's a freaking adult; he doesn't need to hold your hand! The Healers are already helping his son – he said it himself!"

"Draco needs a friend now!" Dad retorted harshly, snatching some of the Floo powder.

"If he really needs someone, he can call his ex-wife! You know, the mother of his child?" Mum hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Dad waved his hand impatiently. "He probably already warned her, but things between them are still shaky and last I heard she was somewhere in Asia for business, so it'll be a while before she can Apparate back. He needs someone there now, Ginny."

"But why does it need to be you?" Mum asked heatedly and one of her hands fisted her robes until the knuckles became white. "Can't he contact someone else? Or doesn't he have other friends? Not that that would surprise me," she sneered.

"Ginny, don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable?" Aunt Hermione interjected, but she was steadfastly ignored by mum.

"If he wanted someone else, he would have contacted that person," Dad replied; his jaw clenched. "For Merlin's sake, Ginny, I'm just going to check up on him and Scorpius!"

"We have an important event to go to!"

"An event that takes place three bloody times a year!" Dad snapped back, visibly becoming angry. "One time missing it won't be a disaster! I'm sorry, but visiting Scorpius in the hospital is more important to me than that event now!"

Looking dad straight in his eyes, mum's voice trembled as she spoke, "If you leave now, you don't need to come back _at all_."

The air in the room grew heavy, dense, and Albus stared at his mum as his heart thudded loudly in his chest. What did mum mean with that? Did she really mean that dad wasn't allowed to come home at all? No, of course not. She couldn't mean that!

Right?

Dad stared speechlessly at her, caught off guard by her order.

"Ginny, you don't mean that," Uncle Ron said weakly; his blue eyes shooting back and forth between dad and mum. "It's just the heat of the moment. Harry, mate, she doesn't mean that."

Mum's eyes practically spat fire as she said icily, "I do mean it. Harry, if you choose Malfoy over us, it's over. I'm done. I'm not going to wait here every bloody time you cater to Malfoy's whims. This whole bullshit ends now. You want to be with that Death Eater filth? Fine, but don't expect to come back!" Her magic sparked furiously in response.

"Ginny," Aunt Hermione said shocked.

"No, Hermione, I'm sick of it," Mum spat and whirled back to face dad. "What's it going to be?"

Dad took a deep breath and said flatly, "Fine."

Mum's triumphant look melted off her face like snow in the snow and she looked like she had been slapped when dad continued, "I'll be back later to pick up my stuff."

With that, he threw the Floo powder into the flames and said, "Saint Mungos!" The flames instantly took him away.

It was silent for a few seconds before a scream of utter rage tore out of mum's throat, making both James and Albus jump in fright, and she stormed out of the room, up the stairs. The whole house seemed to reverberate when she slammed the door of the bedroom shut.

Albus shivered, looking at the golden red flames without really seeing them. Did this – did this mean that their parents would … separate now? Get a divorce like Scorpius' parents? Would they never be a family again?

James' hand clutching his own, his brother's warm presence next to him, seemed to be the only constant thing left in his life.

* * *

Some time passed. Albus wasn't sure how much, wasn't interested in it either. He was sitting down on the couch, James pressed tightly next to him. James' grip on his hand was nearly crushing, but the younger boy wasn't about to pull away. He felt off balance, like he was drifting around without a specific direction and even James looked pale and unsure – a look that Albus had not seen a lot.

James had always been the one who had an answer to everything, a quick, harmless excuse if they were caught doing something they weren't allowed to do. Albus didn't think his older brother could fix this mess. He was afraid this mess was unfixable.

Albus started when Uncle Ron let out a loud sigh and stood up from the armchair he had dropped in a while ago. "Stay here; I have to talk with your aunt for a bit. I'll be right back," he murmured and left the room.

Aunt Hermione had gone upstairs, following mum, a while ago. Albus couldn't hear them talking, though, but whether that was because they just remained silent or they had spells to keep their conversation hidden, he didn't know.

"Does this mean …" Albus paused, hesitating, before he continued with a wavering voice, "Does this mean that mum and dad are going to separate? Like Scorpius' parents?"

James squeezed his hand. "I don't know, Al," he answered softly, staring blankly at the window. "I really don't know."

They both turned around when Uncle Ron entered the room again. In his hands he had a bundle of clothes, which he handed to them. Befuddled Albus stared down at the shirt and trousers. "Change into these clothes. They will be a lot more comfortable than those robes," Uncle Ron explained.

"Why?" James asked confused.

"You want to visit your friend, right? If you want, we can go to Saint Mungos now," Uncle Ron replied, cocking his head to the right.

"But mum," Albus started softly; his eyes shot up as if he could see her through the ceiling.

His uncle waved his hand. "Don't worry about her; I've talked to her and your aunt. Your mum needs some time for herself now, so I suggested that I'd take you to visit your friend. Unless you don't want to?" He raised an eyebrow.

They had never changed their clothes so quickly before.

* * *

They found the room after being directed to it by the nice witch manning the front desk. The door was ajar and when James pushed it open, Albus caught sight of his dad having his arm around Uncle Draco's shoulders as he whispered something too low to hear.

Emerald green eyes looked up as Albus hesitatingly took a step forwards. "James, Albus," Dad murmured, pulling away from Uncle Draco.

"I figured they might want to visit their friend," Uncle Ron said softly, remaining in the doorway. "If it's not a good time, though, we can come back."

Uncle Draco shook his head and cleared his throat. "No, they can come in."

"I'll be right back," Dad muttered and beckoned them further inside as he left the room to talk with Uncle Ron.

Uncle Draco looked really bad. His eyes were red rimmed as if he had been crying – and that was a very strange thought because Albus couldn't imagine the stoic man crying – and his otherwise immaculate hair was messy, as if he had run his fingers through it constantly. He looked tense and extremely worried at the same time; his shoulders hunched forwards, making him appear smaller than he really was.

Albus swallowed and his gaze wandered over to the small body occupying the hospital bed. Scorpius looked as white as a ghost, except for his cheeks which were a cherry red colour; his blond hair sweaty and matted against his forehead. His hands were clenching his sheets and he was sleeping restlessly; his breathing was laboured as if he had to try really hard to get oxygen in his lungs. He looked really, really sick.

Hesitatingly Albus shuffled closer to the bed, reaching out with his hand before he abruptly halted; his hand wavering above the bed. "Is he – how sick is Scorpius?" he asked in a small voice, breaking the tense silence in the room.

Uncle Draco sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It's – the Healers say it's something close to the flu, only worse. They can treat him, but it's going to take a while before he gets better." Here, his breathing hitched and he rubbed a hand over his eyes; his face pulled tight with something akin to fear. He took a shuddering breath and continued with a slight waver in his voice, "They're certain that it's not contagious, so you're safe."

That didn't really make Albus feel better. It was hard to feel relieved at hearing that Scorpius would get better when his friend laid there, looking impossibly small. The bed – not that big really – seemed to swallow him up. Biting his lip, Albus gripped Scorpius' hand, feeling how clammy it was in his own. He didn't know whether it would help Scorpius, but he remembered feeling better whenever dad or mum held his hand when he was sick. Something about their presence close to him had set him at ease and he hoped that that would be the case for Scorpius as well.

He looked up quickly when a sharp gasp escaped Uncle Draco's mouth. Green eyes blinked in surprise when he caught sight of James hugging Uncle Draco around his neck. The older man seemed taken by surprise as he froze up before he awkwardly placed one arm on James' back.

"Scorpius will be okay," James said; his voice muffled because he had his face hidden against Uncle Draco's shoulder. "We still have a game of chess to finish, so he'll get better soon. He thinks he can beat me after all." He sniffed.

A watery chuckle left Uncle Draco and he embraced James fully. "I know he'll get better," he murmured and he seemed to relax a bit, as if he had needed to hear James' words.

Albus smiled; his older brother always knew how to make things better.

* * *

Dad didn't come home at all. They had to leave the hospital after a few hours and were brought back home by Uncle Ron. They didn't see mum the entire evening; Aunt Hermione cooked dinner for them and Uncle Ron tucked them into bed, assuring them that everything would be all right.

When James and Albus returned home the next day after spending the day with their grandparents, they immediately noticed that the door of dad's office was left open and when they hurried inside they saw that everything was gone. All the files and dad's robes – gone. The gift he had received from Uncle Draco – gone. The wardrobe in their parents' bedroom was missing half of its content as well and some of the pictures were missing too.

Only now did Albus realise that dad really wasn't coming back at all. It hadn't been bluff or something said in the heat of the moment; as it stood now, their parents were getting a divorce. Dad had chosen Uncle Draco over mum.

He didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't want his parents to separate, wanted badly to be a family together, but at the same time it was a relief to come home and not hear their parents arguing loudly again over something that dad had done or hadn't done. It made Albus feel guilty; it wasn't like he was happy that his parents were currently apart, but a small part in him took some kind of peace in the fact that he didn't have to hear his parents fighting again.

Not that he was really at ease at home now. If he had taken care to watch out what he said around his mum before, he was practically walking on eggshells now. A mention of dad could set her off either crying or ranting, depending on how she felt that day. Usually she ranted to Aunt Hermione or grandmother, sometimes even one of her friends, but occasionally she snapped at James or Albus if one of them asked when they would see dad again. She would immediately apologise after snapping at them, but they never received a real answer.

Albus really wanted to see his dad again; he really missed him and after that day in the hospital he hadn't seen him again, only receiving a few letters afterwards in which dad reassured him that Scorpius was getting better. There was no mention in his letters when they would see each other again, though, and it made the eight year old wonder whether mum had actually _forbidden_ dad from visiting them.

Then two weeks after the hospital visit, a day after their summer vacation had started, someone knocked on the front door.

* * *

"I'll open it!" James yelled and dashed down the stairs, reaching the front door before Albus had reached the middle of the staircase.

He looked up quickly when James gasped out, "Dad!"

Albus skipped the last three steps and jumped down, racing to the door so that he could hug his dad as well. "We missed you!" he muttered, pressing his face into dad's chest.

Dad's chest rumbled against his cheek as he chuckled, hugging them firmly. "I missed you two as well," he said, ruffling Albus' hair.

When the two boys took a step backwards, they suddenly took notice of grandmother standing right behind dad.

"Hi, grandma," Albus greeted sheepishly.

She smiled. "Hello Albus, where is your - "

"You have some nerve showing up now." Mum appeared in the hallway; her cold gaze fixed on dad as she wiped her hands dry with a towel.

Instantly the air shifted and Albus shuffled with his feet, biting his lower lip as he glanced between his parents.

Dad sighed and loosened his hold on them. "Not like you gave me any opportunities," he said, sounding bitter. He shook his head and stepped inside, closely followed by grandmother. "Look, I'm not staying long. Tomorrow it's Scorpius' birthday and Draco and I are planning to take him to the Dragon Sanctuary in Germany. I'd like to take Albus and James with us for the weekend. We'll be back on Monday, I - "

"Like hell you're taking my sons with you!" Mum snapped; her fingers clenching around the towel. "If you think for one second that I'll let them go, then you're completely out of your - "

"Ginny, Harry hasn't seen them for two weeks," Grandmother interrupted firmly and stepped forwards. "It's not good to keep the boys separated from their father and you know that very well. They need to spend time with their dad as well and they're just going to celebrate Scorpius' birthday."

"But - "

"Sweetheart, the differences are between you and Harry. Don't let them come between you and your children." Grandmother regarded her sternly. "Let's ask them. Sweeties, do you want to spend the weekend with your dad and your friend?"

"YES!" James and Albus simultaneously answered immediately without hesitation.

Getting to spend the weekend with their dad after two weeks of not seeing him _and_ seeing his best friend again while visiting the Dragon Sanctuary? That was a no brainer!

Grandmother smiled. "All right, go pack your things, sweethearts. Your parents still need to have a little talk."

Only the fact that grandmother followed their parents into the living room put Albus at ease. With grandmother near there was no way that the conversation would escalate into a fight.

Now he had a suitcase to pack!

* * *

"So you live at Malfoy Manor now?" James asked curiously, dipping his piece of bread into the copper coloured sauce.

They – meaning James, Albus, dad, Scorpius and Uncle Draco – had arrived at the Dragon Sanctuary two hours ago by taking two Portkeys – of which one was an international one – and Apparating three times. As it was early evening, the adults had decided that they would have dinner and then go to sleep early so that they could get up on time tomorrow to visit the dragons. They only had two days so they had to time their visits to the various endangered dragon species carefully. Now they were at the small restaurant – more like a pub – and they were the only ones there. The owner of the sanctuary – a short, stocky man called Peter Wächter – had informed them in a heavily accented English that they were the only visitors now and that he would take them on a tour as soon as breakfast was over tomorrow.

Uncle Draco was currently in the restroom; his own dinner put under a heat charm thanks to a house elf.

Dad nodded, taking a sip of his red wine. "Yes, for the first few days I stayed at the hospital with Scorpius, but afterwards I went back with Draco to the manor."

Scorpius – who still looked a bit too pale for Albus' liking, but seemed okay overall – grinned, stabbing his fork through a piece of sauce soaked chicken. "Harry and father took care of me when I was allowed to go home again," he said.

Albus cocked his head, curiosity blooming up in him. "Are you going to keep living there?"

If his parents did get divorced – and that seemed more and more likely with every day that passed – did that mean that he and James would go to Malfoy Manor every time to visit dad? Or would dad get a house for himself?

Dad rubbed the back of his neck, appearing a bit awkward. "I think so, if Draco and Scorpius don't have a problem with that."

"I like having you live with us," Scorpius told him sincerely. "And I know father likes having you at the manor too."

"Is that so?" Dad hummed and his eyes suddenly lit up as they caught sight of something behind Albus. When the boy turned around to look he noticed Uncle Draco leaving the restroom, making his way back to their table.

Uncle Draco raised an eyebrow when he sat down again. "What are you talking about?" he inquired curiously, removing the heat charm.

"Whether or not I'm going to keep living at the manor," Dad replied; an odd infliction in his voice.

"Of course you are," Uncle Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Where else would you go?"

Dad laughed, shaking his head, but didn't retort.

James leant forwards; a serious look plastered on his face. "Does this mean that you and mum are going to separate?"

Dad stilled; an odd look passing his face. He pursed his lips and slowly nodded. "Yes, Jamie, your mum and I have decided that it's better if we go each our own way."

_Does that mean you and mum don't love each other anymore?_ The question shot through Albus' mind, but he bit his tongue, not daring to ask it. It seemed too … personal. And a part of him was afraid of what the answer would be.

When he chanced a glance at dad, the older man had a gloomy look on his face. Clearly this was a topic he didn't like to talk about – not that Albus could blame him.

"What do you say of talking about this on Monday when you're back home?" Uncle Draco suggested suddenly. "This weekend it's time to have some fun." He paused and added wryly, "Well, as much fun as can be had surrounded by dangerous creatures."

"The dragons aren't that dangerous, father," Scorpius protested. "They're behind magical barriers; Mister Wächter said so!"

And with that the gloomy atmosphere melted away, leaving them all more relaxed.

Albus still had questions: what was going to happen now; where would they live; was dad's visit to the hospital really the reason of the divorce etc. But, he mused as he caught the look being exchanged by his dad and Uncle Draco, those questions could wait until Monday.

This weekend he was going to spend a fun time with his dad, his best friend and his uncle.

* * *

He was supposed to be in bed by now.

Albus winced as he caught sight of a wooden clock announcing that it was nine thirty. Dad and Uncle Draco had sent them to their rooms at seven thirty with the instruction to take a shower and be in bed no later than eight thirty so that they would be well rested for tomorrow.

Albus really had been planning to go to bed on time, but then he and Scorpius had started talking about their parents and how Albus' parents getting a divorce would affect things and somehow by the time there was a lull in the conversation, more than an hour had suddenly passed and he had to sneak to his own room, hoping that dad hadn't come up yet to check on them.

On his way to his room he suddenly heard the soft murmur of voices and he froze, turning his head. Kneeling behind the balustrade he looked down – careful to remain out of sight – and blinked surprised when he saw dad standing in front of the fireplace, his arms crossed as he looked at Uncle Draco with a frown.

Uncle Draco was saying something – arguing by the looks of it – but Albus was too high up to actually hear the conversation, which frustrated him.

Uncle Draco stalked closer to dad, his cheeks flushed, as he reached out to grab dad's arm.

Dad murmured something and Uncle Draco's face cleared up, as if what dad told him made him really happy. He stepped closer until there was barely an inch between their bodies and leant forwards, bringing his face closer to dad's, puzzling Albus with the action. What was Uncle Draco doing?

Whatever he was planning to do, dad stopped him, pushing against his chest as he stepped back, shaking his head. Even from his spot Albus could see Uncle Draco tensing up and the man hissed something.

Dad clenched his jaw and looked away before replying.

Both men stood still for a while.

Right when Albus was calculating how close he could get without either man becoming aware of his presence, Uncle Draco did something completely unexpected.

Albus' mouth dropped open as he watched how Uncle Draco grabbed dad's hand and –

Pressed a kiss on it!

Dad looked shocked; his own cheeks becoming red. Uncle Draco said something else, a satisfied smile curling around his lips, before he bowed and walked out of sight. Dad remained in the same spot for a little while before he laughed and shook his head, disappearing in the same direction as Uncle Draco.

Well, that was interesting.

Albus blinked and shook himself out of the daze he had fallen in. Slowly he resumed his trek to his room, going over what he had just witnessed.

Did this mean that dad and Uncle Draco were more than friends now? Were they going to be boyfriends? Since when did dad like Uncle Draco like that? Wait, did this mean that he and Scorpius would become brothers? How was their family going to react?

More and more questions were popping up and Albus felt like his life had just turned upside down _again_.

But somehow this particular change didn't feel bad. It actually felt like something had fallen into place. He thought that this change would be something good, something nice after all these months of turmoil.

Mum wouldn't be happy with it at all. Most likely there would be another fight between her and dad once she knew about it. For once, though, Albus didn't worry about that. As he crawled into his bed, he turned to look out of the window, where the dying sun was filtered through the leaves of the thick trees outside.

Somehow he knew that it would all work out. This weekend would be the start of something new, he just knew it. He would worry about his parents' divorce later.

Now sleep beckoned him.

Tomorrow would be a brand new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: For now this is the end :) I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Now, first of, this story will have an epilogue called 'Turning over a New Leaf'. Why will the epilogue be posted separately? Because it will contain MPreg and I know not everyone likes that. It's an extra story I thought of after I wrote several chapters of this one.
> 
> The second side story will be in Scorpius' pov and will be called 'Change Meeting' and will be set in the very beginning of the story, more specifically how Scorpius met Harry.
> 
> The third side story will be in Draco's pov and will be called 'Second Chance in More Than One Way' and will have the last scene of this chapter more detailed.
> 
> Not sure yet when these will be posted, though I'm aiming to have the Scorpius one posted soon :)
> 
> Now, I have a question for you all; some of you requested to read this story in Harry's pov. Would you all be interested in that? If there are enough who want to read it, I'll write it, but be aware that it wouldn't have immediate priority, as I have both upcoming exams and a few stories that I need to finish.
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts about a potential Harry's pov :)
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> For now I say goodbye and I hope to see you in the other stories!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

**Author's Note:**

> AN2: First time that I try writing in Albus' pov, so your thoughts about this are very much appreciated :) Should you spot any mistakes left, please point them out to me!
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


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